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SCENE 1 : INT. BEDROOM - MORNING A BOY wakes up from a fitful sleep. He gets up, and walks into the bathroom. He examines his face in the mirror. He takes a washcloth and soaks it, then wipes his face. As he is withdrawing the cloth from his face, he pauses and looks into his eyes. BOY Here you go...not much turning back after this. A few moments of silence, then he begins to look at his face again. His REFLECTION pulls back critically. REFLECTION You look terrible. BOY I know. I was up late last night. Couldn't sleep. REFLECTION Figured. You've got a lot on your mind. BOY Ah, I'll live through it. REFLECTION You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? A reflection in another mirror speaks. REFLECTION 2 Caaarefulll.... BOY And you think I won't? REFLECTION I think you'll regret it. BOY Ah... The boy dismisses the reflection, and turns around. The original reflection stays still. REFLECTION Look at you. Sacrificing your integrity to help your lowlife brother pull himself out of a little debt. REFLECTION 2 Now you've opened it. BOY He isn't a lowlife! He just has some problems. REFLECTION Yours will be worse. I can guarantee it. BOY You’re my only problem now. REFLECTION You should be grateful for me. I’m what keeps you from becoming your brother! Suckered into debt, cast into the needless shame that he has. You’re not his redeemer. Stop trying to be. BOY They’ll never miss it. We make lots of money where I work. REFLECTION So that justifies it, eh? You’re a regular old Robin Hood, aren’t you? Stealing from the rich, and giving to the poor. Or, should I say, robbing your employer and giving it to those who chose to ruin their own lives? BOY My brother didn’t ruin his life. He just made some bad decisions. REFLECTION And how else would you define ruining one’s life? The boy glares and exits the bathroom. SCENE 2 - EXT. BACKYARD - MORNING The boy exits through a door and arrives outside. There is a pond in his backyard, and a He sits on a bench, thinking. He then gets up and walks over to the pond, and looks in. REFLECTION See what I mean? You can’t be held accountable for his mistakes. BOY But I can help him fix them. REFLECTION Oh really? By stealing? BOY It has to be done. REFLECTION And tell me, why can’t he bail himself out of debt? Or, if you truly feel you’re his salvation, why can’t you earn what you need? The boy pauses, then whips around and leaves as he says BOY He doesn’t have time for that. The boy walks up to the door he entered from, enters, and slams it shut. SCENE 3 : INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING He sits on the couch and grabs the newspaper, but obviously isn’t reading it. He is distracted. A voice speaks. REFLECTION (V.O.) You can’t pretend to be nonchalant about this. The boy stands quickly and his head whips over to see his reflection in the window. REFLECTION It’s in your head, and I won’t let it out. Your body may survive this, but your spirit will die. Are you prepared to die for your brother? Seeing as that I’m a part of you, I know for a fact you aren’t. How does it make a difference, being intangible? The boy tries to ignore him through this, but he finally throws the newspaper down and stalks into the kitchen. He grabs a glass, and shakily tries to fill it in the sink. His reflection appears in the faucet. REFLECTION Today’s the end, boy, you’ll never make it through this. The boy shuts off the sink and walks out. He sits at the table. His reflection in the table speaks. REFLECTION You’re not ready. You’ll do the deed, you’ll take the money, and you’ll readily pour it into your brother’s squandering hands, but you’re not ready for your own moral consequences. The boy furiously gets up, walks to the sink to pour out the water, and stomps into the bathroom again. He points accusingly at his reflection. BOY Stop TALKING to me! REFLECTION But I can't. I am you. Even when you're dipping your hand into that cash drawer, I'll be there, crying for our soul. When you're trying to sleep, I'll be up here (taps forehead), and you'll never be able to get it out of your head that you...are...damned. The boy glares at the mirror for a bit, getting angrier. BOY I won't let my brother try to face it alone. REFLECTION Even if you help him, you'll be alone with your doubt. Alone with me. You'll never know if you did the right thing. I won't let you. BOY It's better than leaving him out to dry! REFLECTION Here you are again, your own ignorant conviction, and here I am, the voice of reason. And once again, you overpower me just because you think you're real. In a flash of anger, the boy breaks the mirror. BOY (screaming) Go away! He walks out. Reflection looks at Reflection 2 REFLECTION He thinks he’s real. Reflection 2 nods. The reflection walks out of the mirror. The boy comes back into the room. BOY But is there a way to-- He stops. His reflection is just his reflection again, and the mirror is fixed. He thinks for a bit. he then gets a slight, ambiguous smirk on his face. BOY It’s still time to go. He exits. Fade out. ROLL CREDITS |