Jones St., Chapter 7: Pages 5-6
Page 5, 6 Panels- Hallway/Store Front, Best Buy, Las Vegas NV
Panel 1: Cut to an interior shot of Melanie in the hallway leading out to the main Best Buy store floor. At this point, we see the back of her dressed in uniform, pushing it open with her right hand. You can see the same glowing red octagon in front of the door, containing the words "Angry Boss Making Landfall Momentarily. Take Cover..."
Panel 2: We move to a shot of Ms. Haynes a few beats later, stepping out back into the main store front. In particular, the car audio area complete with speakers that are visible to the left with one of the smaller TVs visible to the right of the panel view.
MELANIE [narration caption]: I...something feels off about Tara.
Panel 3-5: A three-part set of panels that follows her moving around the different parts of the store, looking around for any customers who may be in need of service. In Panel 3, she's standing near an X-Box games display. In Panel 4, she's over near a row of Blu-ray players. In Panel 5, she's over near a display of digital cameras and drones.
MELANIE [Cont. narration caption, Panel 3]: He's a nice guy and all, genuinely sweet too. MELANIE [Cont. narration caption, Panel 4]: Both dates I've been on have been great. I genuinely like the guy. MELANIE [narration caption, Panel 5]: It has nothing to do with the autism thing, but...something was off.
Panel 6: Cut to a shot of Melanie and Tara sharing a sweet kiss at the front doors to her apartment building, which are visible central in the background through the metal gates along with a little section of the entranceway inside that is illuminated by halogen lights. You can see part of the outer brick exterior and windows to the sides that are also visible through the gates to its side.
MELANIE [narration caption]: Like there was another part he was holding back for some reason.
Page 6, 5 Panels- Store Floor, Best Buy, Las Vegas NV
Panel 1: We go back to Melanie in a close-up of her face, precisely the same place we left her in in Panel 5 of the previous page. She has the same stoic business-like gaze on her face that she had in that panel. You can see a glow of white and gray from the store's ceiling as well as other people near her in the background.
MELANIE [thought bubble]: Maybe he's gay? But that doesn't make sense. His parents are basically hippies. No way they'd raise a kid who would stay in the closet this long. MELANIE [thought bubble 2]: Whatever it is, I'd rather not go for a third date till I'm sure what...
Panel 2: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. Her train of thought is interrupted slightly by the sight of someone within eye sight of her at this point; her eyes shift slightly to the right in that off-panel person's direction.
CUSTOMER [Off-Panel, to Melanie]: Excuse me...
Panel 3: Cut to a shot of a woman in her 40s standing at the far corner of a turn that leads toward the computers area of the store, which is visible faintly in the upper right corner of the panel view. You can also see in the background, more closely behind the customer, a display of Apple products with a group of people gathered around it.
Panel 4: We move to a few moments later with the Customer and Melanie standing side-by-side at this point. Any semblance of inner thought she had in the previous page and the first couple of panels has faded away now, replaced by a set of customer service instincts she had honed over her many years on the job. You can see more of the people walking around them in the background as well as some of the other TVs and Blu-Ray players to the right of the panel view and drones to the left.
MELANIE [to Customer]: Hello, how can I help you?
Panel 5: Close-up on the Customer's face a second later. She looks over in Melanie's direction to answer her question with a steady demeanor that belies a sense of preparation for the moment. There's also a sense of curiosity that comes out as she speaks.
CUSTOMER: I'm looking at new laptops for my daughter. Her old one went south, and she has her heart set on a new MacBook.