Golden Gate Comic Con, Chapter 6: Pages 5-6
PAGE 5
INT. BUS- Morning
PANEL 1-2: A two-part set of panels that moves back to Michele in the same setting and layout as Panel 5 of the previous page, along with the same projection of the back of Ms. Arnold's head. In Panel 1, it consists of a reaction shot of Ms. McKinney to the offer, pondering what exactly her answer should be. Then in Panel 2, a second later, the young woman finally comes up with an answer, albeit one that's slightly clumsily delivered to the wealthy owner.
RUSS ARNOLD [from the screen, to Michele; Panel 1]: So...what's your availability for tonight or tomorrow? MICHELE [thinking, Panel 1]: Ummm.... MICHELE [Cont., to Russ; Panel 2]: I'm actually on my way to Golden Gate Comic Con right now, which is basically gonna take up the whole weekend. Is it possible to--to do it the Monday or Tuesday? Give me enough time to prepare myself and ride out the post-Con high... RUSS ARNOLD [Panel 2]: Whatever's the most convenient for you, Ms. McKinney. I'll be in town till the 30th, shouldn't be a problem. How about Tuesday at 1? MICHELE [Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Sounds good to me... RUSS ARNOLD [Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Excellent! I'll--
INT. DINING ROOM AREA, ALPHABET ARMS
PANEL 3: Cut back to Russell in the same setting and layout as the last panel of the previous page. Underneath the rear shot of Michele's head on his 3-D screen, you can see a red bar emerge with the words (written in reverse) "Incoming Call- GM Arthur."
RUSS ARNOLD [abruptly]: I have to go- team business. Don't worry though- my comm's Calendar app has already locked in the audition date. You should be getting a reminder in your Inbox momentarily. MICHELE [slightly understanding]: Ah...I think I see it. RUSS ARNOLD [Bubble 2]: See you Tuesday...
PANEL 4-5: A two-part set of panels that goes back to Michele in the same setting and layout as the top of the page. In Panel 4, it consists of her nodding goodbye to the rich man; clearly surprised and excited by the whole event. It's a feeling that lingers on in Panel 5, even as Lil' Jarvis chimes in over what happened; the 3-D screen fully disappears from view in this panel for the first time this page.
MICHELE [halting, Panel 4]: Bye...!
LIL' JARVIS [from the comm, to Michele; Panel 5]: You and I both know your evening's free enough that you could've done that audition later tonight. MICHELE [nods, to Lil' Jarvis; Panel 5]: True, J Man. But there's a difference between doing something and doing it well. And frankly, something as big as this would be- I don't wanna give her any doubt to saying "Yes!' to me. LIL' JARVIS [curious; Panel 5, Bubble 2]: Ah, yes. I've always wondered where that determination came from. I assumed it had to do with your female gender identity, and the still firmly entrenched patriarchy in society. MICHELE [Panel 5, Bubble 2]: It was partly that. But the inspiration came from my mum Desiree...
PAGE 6
EXT. STREET, LONDON- 25 Years Ago
PANEL 1: We cut to a shot of a beautiful black woman in her mid 30s named Desiree dressed in a smart looking pantsuit on her way to work. All around her represent all shapes and sizes and colors of London in 2013.
MICHELE [Cont., caption]: She worked in advertising- a copywriter at a decently posh ad agency in central London. A pretty good one at that, won a couple Gold Awards in 2006 and 2008 as well as a Silver Award in 2011 at the BTAAs.
INT. OFFICE, LONDON
PANEL 2: We move to a shot of Desiree in her office, a little bit older than in the previous panel, doing some work on her computer. You can see, by her outfit, that it's a different time in her life by the change in color of her work pantsuit compared to Panel 1.
MICHELE [caption]: One day, the Copy Chief announced he was leaving the firm for another, more lucrative set-up across the pond. The Creative Director opens the search up to all the writers on the agency staff. She quickly gathered her book that evening and sent it the next day, thinking it (alongside her awards) would give her a fighting chance against her primarily white and male colleagues.
PANEL 3: Cut to a shot of the woman moving down a hallway in the building a little over a week later; underneath her left arm, you can see a big folder full of papers which we only see partially over the top edge of it.
MICHELE [Cont., caption]: Unfortunately, the patriarchy was at the height of its powers at that time. No way a black girl from Marylebone was gonna be a Copy Chief at a posh firm, especially one who didn't have an Oxford or UCL education in her C/V.
PANEL 4: Cut to a shot of Desiree and the person who ended up getting a job, a younger bloke with auburn hair and a not that impressive looking suit on. You can see the stats underneath the two of them- Desiree's showing her college background, internship, years of work as a Copywriter, and underneath the guy it focuses on three things (3 years as a Copy Writer, blog writer, and most importantly...son of a former partner at the firm).
MICHELE [caption]: Or who had other..."important" factors in their favor.
INT. BUS- Present Day
PANEL 5: We move back to Michele on the bus; the setting and layout behind and around her similar to what we saw at the end of the previous page. The bus around them has continued to move as it had before, nearing the arena as she finishes the rest of the story.
MICHELE [Cont., to Lil' Jarvis]: She stayed on for another 3 years before she was laid off a little after Brexit happened. She spent the rest of her career living quite well through Telecommuting Freelance work, while he stayed on for another 20, languishing in mediocre work. LIL' JARVIS [from the comm]: That's a sad story, with an impressive amount of knowledge given that you must have been 8 years old when it happened. MICHELE [Bubble 2]: Yeah. My gran told me the story just before I went to high school. The story pissed me off, espeically how the guy got off so bloody easily. She told me, "If you ever find yourself with that same golden opportunity, don't let go of it without a fight...or a pair of spiked brass knuckles in their neck!"
PANEL 6: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. Her train of thought is interrupted just as it's about to reach its end by the sound of the driver calling from the front of the bus; her eyes looking over in that direction as her right hand reaches out to grab the shield.
DRIVER [Off-Panel]: We've arrived at the Little G. Any Congoers onboard, better step off now. LIL' JARVIS: I can respect her thought process, even with the slight hyperbole. But I'm surprised she dealt with it. I thought her generation had evolved from its less racist and sexist issues. MICHELE [correcting]: It's what they like to tell themselves, what the history books like saying. And they did some good, no question. But...