Lifestyles of the Skilled and Jobless: Episode 1

INTERIOR, HOTEL ROOM - DAY: Sarah, twenty-nine, stares at her laptop while sitting in an uncomfortable chair at a desk that juts out of the wall and oddly separates the “kitchen” from the “living area.” There are papers scattered around and a printer set up behind her laptop. She is scrolling through the Craigslist job postings for Boulder, Colorado. She is scowling. She throws her hands up in frustration.

SARAH: (yelling) Damn! Why doesn’t anyone need a writer?

Sarah shuts her laptop and gets up to stretch. She walks over to the sliding glass door and opens it. Her scowl melts into a smile.

SARAH: Well, thank goodness it’s warm and sunny at least. Unemployment and sunshine go well together. Yeah. I’m talking to myself again.

She gathers her handbag, laptop, throws her sunglasses on and leaves.

CUT TO: INTERIOR, COFFEE SHOP, DAY: Sarah sips an iced latte at Amante Coffee. She’s typing quickly on her laptop.

SARAH’S INNER MONOLOGUE:  Hi there. I’m a homeless writer, literally and figuratively. My fiancé got an awesome job that moved us here from Seattle. We’re currently living like nomads at the Residence Inn, which is why I say figuratively. And, I lack a space to create words and ideas of genius as a writer—the literal part. I’m hoping your advertising agency is in need of a writer that is proficient in writing print, television, radio, collateral, outdoor, and jokes.

SARAH: (mutters) Hmmm, too pathetic or is it funny in a cynical way?

INNER MONOLGUE CONTINUES: I promise I won’t pitch a tent or a cot at the office. I welcome both freelance and full-time writing opportunities. Attached is a PDF of my most recent work. I hope we can get together and discuss how we can make each other’s lives better.

Sarah stares at the screen and sips her drink as she re-reads the e-mail. She smiles and hits send. She continues writing, shivering  as she is sitting under an air vent. Sarah looks around. The woman at the next table, in her early 40s, notices Sarah’s interest.

FEMALE: Aren’t you freezing?

SARAH: (startled) What? Oh yeah, it’s weird. I …

FEMALE: Oh my god, your hair is beautiful.

Loving a dose of flattery, Sarah turns to thank what could possibly be her first friend in her new city.

FEMALE: (talking fast and stroking her hair) You know I tried to get my hair that exact color and I made the mistake of trusting the ladies at Sally Beauty Supply to match the color and I learned not to do that and to only use twenty and not forty and then mix slowly, oh that’s the key—mix slowly.