*Script is not completed. Page 1 indicates a new scene (not that it would be the first page in the graphic novel).

Page 1 (right): INTRO

Splash Page: A circle top window shows us that it’s a starry night. There’s a three-month-old newspaper that sits on a desk. It has a picture of a 20-year-old boy, holding a trophy, and he’s smiling. The title of the article reads, “CORATICUM UNIVERSITY GOLDEN BOY LOSES EYE”. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: In half a second, your entire life could change. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: You’re not you anymore. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: You have to get used to being someone else. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: In half a second, my older brother lost his left eye.

FRANKIE NARRATION: I thought he was going to be a polo star, a brilliant student, a ladies’ man forever. 

FRANKIE NARRATION:  He was now the boy with the eye patch, screaming in the middle of every night for help.

FRANKIE NARRATION: That’s how I know forever isn’t real. Forever is whatever people make it out to be.

Page 2 (left): 

Panel 1: Freddie Procella, Frankie’s older brother, slams the van’s trunk door shut. There is a sticker on the bumper that says, “My son goes to Coraticum University”. We only see his back, but we do see Frankie watching him close it. She’s carrying a discman.

SFX: SLAM!

FREDDIE: Don’t forget to call me when you get there.

FRANKIE: Ew. You sound like mom. 

FREDDIE: You’re right. That was pretty disgusting. What I meant to say was, “Have fun at college dweeb”. 

Panel 2: We see Freddie wearing an eye patch. His other eye wearing bags from not sleeping. Despite that, he’s cheerful. Frankie wants to make sure Freddie knows she is going to college on business.

FREDDIE: But seriously, have fun, okay? No more of this detective talk. This isn’t going to be about me, got it?

FRANKIE: Freddie, I’m only going ‘cuz of you. Maybe everyone’s forgotten but not me. I need to find out what happened. You deserve that. 

FREDDIE: No, Frankie. You’re going to go to college for you. Not me. 

Panel 3: Their mom, growing impatient, starts to honk (though we can’t see her). Freddie starts waking backwards towards the garage. Freddie starts to walk backwards towards the side of the car.

FRANKIE: But Freddie- 

SFX: HONK HONK!

FREDDIE: Bye! Asta la vista! Au revoir! 

FRANKIE: I won’t let you down! Not like everyone else!

Panel 4: Freddie is watching the car drive away. His smile has faded.

FRANKIE NARRATION: Going to college for me meant going to college for him. I don’t even know what I would even want to get out of it if I went for me. 

//NEW SCENE******

Page 1 (right): THE CD

Panel 1: Mid-Morning. Coraticum Library window, we see Poet who is listening to his blue discman and playing chess by himself.

CAPTION: Coraticum Library. Poet’s second home. 

Panel 2: Frankie is taking his earphones off from behind. Poet is startled. 

FRANKIE: I’ve been looking for you. I don’t know why I didn’t check here first. 

Panel 3: Poet is placing his earphones around his neck. Frankie is making her way to a seat in front of him. 

FRANKIE: Like why did I go to your dorm? I had to interact with that awful Dorian guy. Isn’t he the worst? And he was not particularly happy this morning. He’s not really happy any morning, right? He’s-

POET: Frankie? 

Panel 4: Frankie takes her seat with her backpack in her lap. She has one hand in it and one hand in the air as she talks. 

FRANKIE: Yeah? 

POET (OP): Why were you looking for me? 

FRANKIE: Oh. Oh, yeah. I actually made you something.  

Panel 5: Frankie takes out a CD. Poet’s reaction is vague. Frankie starts to doubt her gift.

FRANKIE: I couldn’t go to sleep yesterday so I made you a CD. It has all of our songs in it.

POET: Sick… thanks.

FRANKIE: The songs we use to listen to when we were like 12… I don’t know. Well, I kind of have to go so… 

Page 2 (left): 

Panel 1: Exterior library. Frankie is going down the steps looking regretful. 

FRANKIE (talking to herself): Why did I do that? I’m so weird.

Panel 2: Interior classroom. Frankie is sitting at her desk. Not listening at all. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: He totally knows I like him now. I mean, how could he not? He looked so… terrified. Like he didn’t want to be there. 

Panel 3: Interior conference room. The editor in chief is talking. Other newspaper staff are listening. Frankie is looking at her notes and doodling. 

FRANKIE NARRATION:  A CD? Really, Frankie? Why didn’t you just propose to him right then and there? 

Panel 4: Evening. Frankie is sitting on a grassy hill.

FRANKIE NARRATION: To top it all off, he probably didn’t even listen to it. And if he did, what if he thinks the love songs are about him? Should I call him later and tell him that I’m not in love with him?

Panel 5: Night. Frankie’s studio apartment. Frankie keeps re-arranging her beanie babies that sit on a shelf. (maybe the ghost thing comics do to show multiple actions)

FRANKIE NARRATION: “Sick thanks”. What does that even mean? Sick like “this is pretty sick”? Or sick like “this is so weird and I’m just trying to be polite”?

Panel 6: A pink trimline phone starts to ring.

SFX: RIIIIING RIIIIIIIING!

Page 3 (right): 

Panel 1: Frankie has the phone to her ear. She is sitting on her pink bed with some stuffed animals besides her. This takes up half the page- diagonally.

FRANKIE: Hello? 

Panel 2: Interior of the Zoo. It’s dark with not any great lighting. Weston has a white telephone cord wrapped around his torso. He looks panicked. There is a large tank behind him and a tentacle pops up from it and behind Weston. We can’t see the creature because Weston’s body is blocking it from view. This takes up the other half of the page.

WESTON: FRANKIE! Please! You have to come now! I’m at the Zoo! And- And it’s not a- it’s a monster!

//NEW SCENE******

Page 1 (right): OCTUPUS CHASE

Panel 1: Night. Aerial shot of the main quad at Coraticum University. There is a fountain in the middle of the grassy area struggling to gush as the octopus hugs it. There are four buildings that encase this space: the library on the right, Coraticum administration building at the northern center, student orgs building and counselor buildings on the left. A path to the rest of the campus is at the southern part of the courtyard but we only see a bit of this path. Frankie, Weston, and Poet are running on the path onto the quad on the hunt for the octopus monster. This panel should look almost like a Where’s Waldo? page. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: Just your typical three in the morning monster chase.

Panel 2: Upclose on the trio all equipped with flashlights, determined but tired. 

1. POET: I can’t believe you woke me up for this… 

2. FRANKIE: It could be anywhere by now! 

3. WESTON: Hey, look over there!

Panel 3: Upclose on the octopus. A few tentacles clinging around the fountain’s center and others are loose – ready to grab at anything.  

//NEW SCENE******

Page 1 (right): WHEN ONE BOOK OPENS

Panel 1: Early afternoon. A red brick library swallowed by ivy. Students sit on the stone railing and benches in the grassy area in front or talking by a bike rack.

FRANKIE NARRATION: People say when one book closes, another one opens. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: At the library, I was trying to keep my brother’s book open. His story wasn’t finished yet.

FRANKIE NARRATION: …even if people had already put this book down and opened another.

Panel 2: What seems like endless rows of books stand tall on the first floor. The large window lets in some sunshine onto the bookshelf that Frankie is raiding. Tables are lined by the large windows and students sitting at them, doing homework and whatnot. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: A red book with gold letters… a red book …. Gold letters … tattered pages… a piece of my brother

Panel 3: Same shot as panel 2 but Frankie is in the next row 

Panel 4: And then the next, next row.  

Panel 5: Annnnd the last row. 

Page 2 (left): 

Panel 1: Frankie approaches a spiral staircase by the last row. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: Maybe this book would be on the second floor. 

Panel 2: Close up of Frankie’s white heeled mary janes taking its 7th step on the stairs. We see them through the railing.

FRANKIE NARRATION: Maybe this book didn’t exist at all. 

Panel 3: Frankie is walking away from the stair case with a spark of discovery in her eyes. Behind her is more of the second floor with a large clearing of the first floor.

FRANKIE NARRATION: Or maybe it’s right in front of my face. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting for me to grab it. 

Panel 4: Upclose of Frankie’s hand grabbing a red book. The spine says “Life Cycle of Butterflies” 

Panel 5: Frankie is standing in front of the third row of books and we see a side of her. She has a red book open in her hands. The large window faces us and it shows us an empty polo stadium. 

FRANKIE (whisper) : what is this? 

Panel 6: Closeup of a larger hand swiping the book from behind Frankie. 

FRANKIE: Hey!

Page 3 (right): 

Panel 1: Dorian has the book and a smirk on his face now. Frankie is turned around and she is clearly annoyed. 

FRANKIE: Do you ever get tired of being annoying? 

DORIAN: Not really. 

Panel 2: Dorian holds the book up high and tries to see what it’s all about while Frankie snatches at it. 

DORIAN: What are you doing with this? 

FRANKIE: None of your business – just give it to me!

Panel 3: Dorian holds it higher with one arm. Frankie is tip toeing, one arm trying to bring his arm down and the other reaching for the book. They’re a lot closer to each other… definitely some tension here.

DORIAN: Your parents ever teach you to share? 

FRANKIE:  Your parents ever teach you to shut up and stop bothering people?

GIRL (OP): Hey Dorian, are we still going to study?

Panel 4: Dorian’s and Frankie’s heads are turned in the direction of the speaker. They’re in an awkward bind.

DORIAN: …Oh, hey uh-um -

GIRL (OP): Cecilia. 

DORIAN: Cecilia, right. Find us a table. I’ll be right there.

Panel 5: Upclose shot of Dorian’s hand putting the book on the most top shelf.

Panel 6: Frankie is looking up at the book. She’s very annoyed. Dorian is walking out of the row. 

DORIAN: Well this was fun. Let’s do it again sometime. 

Page 4 (left): 

Panel 1: There’s a chair and an empty book space in the row. Frankie is skimming through the pages.

Panel 2: A picture of a caterpillar on a branch. Page is tattered but there are no notes.

FRANKIE (OP): Of course, this isn’t it… 

Panel 3: An overview of the floor. It’s breathtakingly beautiful – every bibliophile’s dream. Many bookshelves. Students scattered here and there. Dorian and Cecilia are sitting on the same side of the table, doing more talking than studying. 

FRANKIE NARRATION: Or maybe it’s not waiting for you at all.

Panel 4: Across the floor from Frankie are more rows of book shelves, they’re lightly sprinkled with red books (which are brighter in comparison to the rest).

FRANKIE (OP): sigh

Panel 5: The red book she is looking for is tucked away in a familiar looking bookshelf. It sits in a boys’ dorm room we’ve definitely seen before.

FRANKIE NARRATION: It’s hiding.

//NEW SCENE******

Page 1 (right): HILL TOP THOUGHTS

Panel 1: Evening. A small grassy hill north east of the library. Yards away from the horse stables and the polo team locker room that sits to the left of the hill. The sea horizon is miles behind Frankie as she stares at the horses below her. The scene is really wide so she probably looks ant sized. 

1. FRANKIE NARRATION: When you step back, life really is simple.

Panel 2: Her nose is red and eyes puffy from crying. The grass hovers over her like tall buildings. She’s holding a paper.

SFX: sniff sniff 

1. FRANKIE NARRATION: So why do we complicate things? Why do we hurt each other? Why do we make sure we all feel alone together?

2. DORIAN (OP): Frankie? 

Panel 3: Frankie, head turned towards the speaker still clenching the paper. Dorian is standing on the hill behind her. And behind him is the luscious pink sky. 

1. DORIAN: Are you… okay? I saw you when I got out of the locker room. 

Panel 4: Frankie turns her head around to watch the horses again. 

1. FRANKIE: Why do you care? 

2. FRANKIE NARRATION: The simple thing would just be to care. 

Panel 5: Back to the wide view shot. Same art and description, but instead of just Frankie sitting on the hill, Dorian is now sitting beside her. 

1. FRANKIE NARRATION: To be together. But not alone. 

Page 2 (left): 

Panel 1: They both look equally uncomfortable and they’re not looking at each other. The grass gently sways in the wind after a long silence.

SFX: whoosh!

1. DORIAN: This is a pretty weird place to cry. 

Panel 2: Frankie hands him a printed article. Dorian looks confused. 

1. FRANKIE: Not when everyone hates you. Thanks for that, by the way. 

Panel 3: This is an article Frankie wrote. It has her name crossed out and in its place is written “bitch”. Written in bigger letters over the article is “Leave the news to the MEN. This is the kind of cancer that is published in the newspaper if we let bitches write. Men are smarter than women. That’s just a fact”.

Panel 4: Dorian dawns on a realization and even looks a little horrified. Frankie has run out of tears. The sky is a darker pink, becoming purple.

1. FRANKIE: You wanna know where I got that? Swiped right from The Dorian Manifesto! 

2. DORIAN:  Frankie, I- I didn’t write this! 

Page 3 (right): 

Panel 1: Dorian is upset at the use of his name and begins to rip the article. Frankie is starting to get up.

SFX: rriip!

1. DORIAN: We called a truce weeks ago! Why would I instigate something all of a sudden?

2. FRANKIE: I don’t know. You tell me. 

Panel 2: Frankie is standing. Dorian is staring up at her, clearly hurt by the accusation with the almost ripped article in his lap. 

1. DORIAN: I thought I made this right. 

2. FRANKIE: Me too.  

Panel 3: Frankie is heading down the hill. Dorian is still sitting and completes the rip.

SFX: RIIIIIIP

Panel 4: Dorian crumbles the paper. He looks pensive. The sky is darker, almost night.

1. FRANKIE NARRATION: When you step back for too long, life seems hard again. Raging with a vendetta against us.