Script Draft 2

COLLEGE COMPLEX – HA ROOM – 12:25

Part way through a High Achievers lesson, ROXIE is sat two down from ARTHUR. ARTHUR is hurriedly scribbling down notes, while ROXIE is staring absent-mindedly out of the window. MR STEEPLE is talking at the front.

ARTHUR’s eyes flick to ROXIE momentarily, watching her hands as she flicks a pen. Her fingers make very controlled, precise movements.

MR STEEPLE

As you show know by now, we are going on a trip…

ROXIE perks up a little, eyes moving to the front. ARTHUR rolls his eyes as he completes his notes.

MR STEEPLE

We’ll be going to the museum-

ROXIE rolls her eyes, ARTHUR perks up.

MR STEEPLE (CONT’D)

-which houses some very valuable jewels we will be allowed to handle.

ROXIE and ARTHUR now attentive.

MR STEEPLE (CONT’D)

Only the very best of the High Achievers students will be allowed to come-

ROXIE sighs as she realises she probably can’t go. ARTHUR’s smile twitches upward slightly. MR STEEPLE now looks directly at ROXIE.

MR STEEPLE (CONT’D)

But I’m sure if you work extra hard, everyone can come.

EXT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE HA ROOM – 10:31

ARTHUR is reluctantly followed by ROXIE, though he tries to remain pleasant, he’s nearly at his wits end with her.

ROXIE

Arthu-u-u-ur…

ARTHUR

(exasperated)

Yes?

ROXIE clings to ARTHURs arm. ARTHUR is none too pleased.

ROXIE

Is there any chance you could possibly…

ROXIE gets distracted by a person passing by and ARTHUR takes the opportunity to escape from her grip and walk swiftly away. He looks overly relieved.

EXT. COLLEGE COURTYARD – 12:34

SEBASTIAN is waiting for ARTHUR, tapping his foot but otherwise patient. ARTHUR bursts through the doors, composing himself as he walks, and lets his eyes roll to SEBASTIAN as he draws near.

SEBASTIAN

Arthur!

ARTHUR walks over to SEBASTIAN and sighs. SEBASTIAN glances at ARTHUR's face before opening his mouth to say something, thinking better of it, and shutting it again.

ARTHUR

What, Sebastian?

SEBASTIAN

We haven't had a single clue as to who is really behind this...

ARTHUR stays silent, watching SEBASTIAN.

SEBASTIAN

What if we never catch them, Arthur? What if they're too clever for us? Don't look at me like that, it's possible!

ARTHUR shakes his head disapprovingly as ROXIE walks in, abnormally pleased to see them, as always.

ROXIE

Seb! Arthur!

ARTHUR again rolls his eyes. SEBASTIAN looks genuinely pleased.

SEBASTIAN

Roxie!

ROXIE enthusiastically sits down next to them, even more so than before. She's being overly nice, obviously so.

SEBASTIAN

You alright, Roxie?

ROXIE

Yep! Perfectly fine, thank you! How're you, Seb?

SEBASTIAN

Oh, I'm-

ARTHUR

Busy. We're busy. We have a thief to catch.

ARTHUR gets up and leaves, SEBASTIAN shrugs at ROXIE then leaves as well. ROXIE lingers for a moment before following herself.

EXT. LARGE CLASSROOM - 12:40

LARGE CLASSROOM with computers around the edge, horse-shoe arranged desks. ARTHUR has pictures set out to one end; he's standing over them, looking determined. SEBASTIAN is stood nearby, looking vaguely confused.   ROXIE leans by the door, checking her phone and occasionally glancing at SEBASTIAN.

ARTHUR sighs loudly and looks up at SEBASTIAN. You can’t see ARTHUR’s face, but you can hear him muttering something to SEBASTIAN. SEBASTIAN looks shocked, disbelieved, and glances slightly at ROXIE. ROXIE looks up, confused.

ROXIE starts walking toward ARTHUR and SEBASTIAN. Hearing snippets of the conversation, ROXIE is looking more and more worried about what they’re talking about. The conversation suddenly ends just as she comes into earshot, but she still hears

SEBASTIAN

No, it couldn’t be! They wouldn’t! They-

ARTHUR spins around and shuffles his papers away behind his back. He stands up and leaves, hitting ROXIE with his shoulder as he passes.

ARTHUR

(half-hearted)

Sorry

ARTHUR leaves the room but SEBASTIAN stays.

ROXIE

Seb? What was that all about?

SEBASTIAN

Don’t worry about it, Roxie. It’s just a lead.

SEBASTIAN leaves, ROXIE sits on the desk and sighs audibly.

EXT. BUSY CORRIDOR – 13:14

Sounds from any students bustling about, each on with a destination in mind except one. MRS BEED is standing in the crowd, unmoving. She glances at the clock.

Clock shows time of 1:15 pm

MRS BEED stands back to her original position, staring fixatedly at the door. No one comes through the door until the clock ticks over 1:15 pm.

Suddenly, ARTHUR and SEBASTIAN burst through the door, SEBASTIAN laughing at something ARTHUR  has said while ARTHUR’s mouth is curling upward more than usual.

MRS BEEN

Arthur! Sebastian! A word, if you please!

SEBASTIAN looks apprehensively at ARTHUR but ARTHUR just sets his features then walks up to MRS BEEN.

ARTHUR

Yes?

MRS BEEN peers at ARTHUR and SEBASTIAN for a moment, as if trying to read their minds.

MRS BEEN

You haven’t been… up to anything since I’ve given you free-rule of the classrooms, have you?

SEBASTIAN blushes but the comment doesn’t seem to faze ARTHUR

ARTHUR

Nothing other than what you authorized me to do, Mrs Been, I assure you.

(pause)

ARTHUR (CONT’D)

Speaking of which, we’ve made an interesting development since I last updated you.

All three lean in together to allow ARTHUR to speak with some privacy.

At that very moment ROXIE bursts through a gang of students and almost sends ARTHUR flying in her haste to get in on the action.

ARTHUR

I shall tell you later.

ARTHUR leaves with his usual extravagance and SEBASTIAN trails behind, followed by ROXIE who is frustrated at not being able to speak.

EXT. EMPTY CORRIDOR – 14:58

THIEF rushes around a corner. They are dressed all in black, hood up, running at full pelt. You can’t see their face in the short time you can see them on screen. ARTHUR rushes around the corner in obvious pursuit. His coat is splaying out behind him.

The THEIF has a wallet clasped in their hand, and as they go through a doorway, attempts to slam a door in ARTHUR’s face. ARTHUR pushes through regardless, concentration showing on his face.

The THIEF slams into a student, pushing him into ARTHUR’s way as they continue to run down the corridors.

A rumbling is heard from the classrooms and ARTHUR quickly checks his watch; class was about to end. This only increases ARTHUR’s determination to catch the THIEF and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Suddenly, students burst from the classrooms around them, blocking the THIEF temporarily from sight. ARTHUR pushes students out of the way as he narrows the THIEF’s lead, and shouts of discontent follow them down the corridor. The THIEF becomes more frantic as they realize ARTHUR is catching up.

SEBASTIAN leaves his History class and is nearly knocked down by the THIEF

SEBASTIAN

[shocked]

What?

SEBASTIAN is then pushed out of the way by ARTHUR

SEBASTIAN

[shocked, flustered]

Arthur, what?

SEBASTIAN then joins the chase, thought he is obviously confused. He trails somewhat behind ARTHUR and apologizes to the students being pushed out of the way.

The chase continues toward the staircase. Teachers and students alike are now following in tow, though there is obvious confusion as to what is going on. SEBASTIAN is behi9nd, attempting to explain that he has no idea what is going on to some teacher, but is trying harder to keep up with ARTHUR.

Sweat trickles down ARTHUR’s face as the THIEF crashes through the door to the stairwell.

EXT. STAIRWELL – 15:01

As soon as the door to the stairwell swings shut, ARTHUR bursts through, closely followed by SEBASTIAN and a group of teachers and students.

The THIEF is running erratically and stumbles, falling down the stairs. The THIEF shouts out in pain, and the shout is definitely female. ARTHUR stops at the top of the stairs, soon joined by SEBASTIAN, and waits as the THIEF finishes tumbling.

There is a moment of silence as the THIEF lies on the landing. ARTHUR skips down the stairs and carefully removes the wallet from their hand. He throws it up to SEBASTIAN who clumsily catches it. ARTHUR reaches into an inside pocket of the hoody and pulls out the concert tickets. He pockets them before pausing, as if thinking about what to do.

ARTHUR begins making his way up the stairs, but as he leaves quickly pulls the hood of the THEIF down. Under the hood is ROXIE, trying to hide her face.

ARTHUR continues up the stairs, steely determination on his face. SEBASTIAN looks shocked and disgusted.

EXT. CLASSROOM – 16:08

ROXIE is sat there, there is a TEACHER by the door.

ROXIE

I want to talk to Arthur and Sebastian! Please! I need to explain!

TEACHER

You are in no place to be making demands!

ARTHUR and SEBASTIAN enter, ARTHUR is, as usual, devoid of much emotion. SEBASTIAN looks betrayed.

ROXIE

Look, Seb, let me explain!

SEBASTIAN

You don’t need to. Arthur already has.

ROXIE looks disgruntled upon hearing this.

ARTHUR

Yes, Roxie. I explained to Sebastian that you did this because you never got the attention you wanted. Not from your parents, not from your teachers and especially not from your peers. You saw me, the genius that I am, getting recognition and attention, and you were jealous. You are far more perfect than me. Not just clever, but also charismatic, witty and likeable. So you latched onto me, thinking if you could outsmart me, maybe you’d get the credit you deserve. But there is one thing I don’t understand… you knew that to outsmart me was not to get caught, yet you still expected credit? You’re a smart girl, Roxie…

ROXIE looks at ARTHUR in disbelief then sighs.

ROXIE

You wouldn’t understand, Arthur. I did it for a reason I’ve come to think beyond your scope of knowledge. I didn’t do it for your attention, or the attention of my friends, or teachers, or parents. I don’t care about them! I only care about…

ROXIE looks at SEBASTIAN. ARTHUR looks shocked, SEBASTIAN just looks at his feet.

ROXIE

Seb, listen to me, please, Sebastian!

SEBASTIAN refuses to look at ROXIE, but she goes on anyway.

ROXIE

Sebastian, just listen to me. I thought that, if I outsmarted Arthur, maybe you wouldn’t think he was so invincible… so amazing, and maybe you’d pay attention to me. He can be outsmarted, I know he can. Look, Seb, please, I did it for you!

SEBASTIAN just looks at the ground. ARTHUR is a little dumbfounded.

SEBASTIAN

[quietly]

Did you really think that would work, Rox? Really?

ARTHUR

You… You did it for him? But, I don’t understand…

ROXIE

You never do, Arthur! You don’t understand emotion - that much I’ve gathered. Do you even feel real emotions, Arthur? Truly? Or are you just… just all logic, like… like what? A machine? You certainly don’t act with any compassion. Did you never question the motives of the people I hired? Did you?

ARTHUR is a little dumbfounded, shocked into silence by her words.

ROXIE

Helen, for example! I promised her that I would see to it she would get the attention of her crush if she did what I asked!

The TEACHER pays closer attention to this.

ROXIE

Lara, another fine example! She didn’t do it for her own personal gain, not at all! She did it because her brother desperately needed pain relief – strong pain relief – that the doctors couldn’t give him because they didn’t know the cause. I promised her that if she did what she did for me, I could provide that. If she didn’t get caught, that is.

ROXIE (CONT’D)

Liam did it because I promised him that I could convince his parents that he could have a dog, Charlie so that her sister could go to a concert he wanted to see more than anything, Amy so that I would withdraw my copy of her work so her work wouldn’t be disqualified… All of these people, all of them, their motive was something quite different to what you thought, Arthur!

ROXIE (CONT’D)

But you don’t care about that, do you? You just care about getting your man, sealing your victory, catching the bad guy…

ARTHUR stays silent. He seems to have lost his steam. SEBASTIAN is looking from one to the other, assessing the situation.

ROXIE

You know what, Arthur? You really aren’t that good at this detective rubbish you pretend to be an expert at. Without me, without Seb, you would be nothing. Nothing at all. You realize that… don’t you?

ARTHUR is silent, examining his feet. ROXIE laughs to herself, hysterical.

ROXIE

You do! You realize all this! You’ve known for a while… Not from the start, that’s for sure, but for a while. Then… why haven’t you tried to prove yourself wrong? Come on, Arthur. Every time you find a limit, you push it until it breaks. It’s how you live. I think it gives you a buzz, to push yourself until you break. So… why not now?

ARTHUR glances slightly up at SEBASTIAN. When this happens, ROXIE laughs but SEBASTIAN smiles, just a little.

ROXIE

Haha, no, Arthur. Just no. You don’t understand emotion! You’ll never get anywhere!

ARTHUR

You don’t understand me.

ARTHUR leaves in a huff, SEBASTIAN stays for just a moment.

SEBASTIAN

I’m disappointed in you, Rox. I had such high hopes.

SEBASTIAN turns to leave.

ROXIE

Seb, Seb no! Sebastian!

SEBASTIAN leaves and ROXIE rests her head on the table in despair.

EXT. CORRDIDOR – 16:29

SEBASTIAN waits outside ARTHUR’s maths class patiently. ARTHUR comes out and they begin walking down the corridor. They walk in silence, neither looking at the other until they are nearly at the door.

 SEBASTIAN

Arthur?

ARTHUR

Yes?

SEBASTIAN

Can we ever trust her again? Roxie? After… after this?

ARTHUR

I never trusted her to begin with. She’s not the sort of person you can trust. She’s too attention seeking.

ARTHUR starts to ramble on. SEBASTIAN is obviously trying to work up the courage to say something.

SEBASTIAN

[blurts out]

I don’t agree with what she said!

ARTHUR and SEBASTIAN stop walking and there is a stunned silence for a moment.

SEBASTIAN

[fumbling]

I mean, about you not understanding emotion! I don’t mean about you being right or something! I meant that I think you do understand it, you do, you just don’t like it or something like that! I’m sorry Arthur I didn’t mean to cause offence I mean I was just trying to say…

ARTHUR sighs and continues walking, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. SEBASTIAN follows. As they walk through the door into the outside world, ARTHUR slips his hand into SEBASTIANS.

Fade to black.

END