Confidence Page #5

An OLD LADY blocks her path.

OLD LADY:

Excuse me, Miss. I can't reach the

cat food.

Letty pauses. She reaches up and hands the woman a can of

food.

OLD LADY:

And a turkey and giblets, too,

please. She does like her turkey.

Letty grabs another can, throws it in the Old Lady's cart and

darts away while the Old Lady continues to talk.

LETTY'S POV:

The sign for Aisle 2A.

shapes. All sizes.

Olives. Lots of them. Green. All

BACK TO SCENE:

Letty's shoulders relax. She scans the shelf.

LETTY's POV:

Labels of olives: big, small, with pimentos, wfrom Puglia, Italy.

ithout. None

BACK TO SCENE:

Letty zooms back to the front of the store. To the clerk.

LETTY:

They're not there. I need the ones

from Puglia.

28.

She gets no response from the clerk, who counts change for a

customer. Letty gestures wildly with her hands.

LETTY:

They're the ones that are packed in

brine, but they don't overpower

the, you know, the palate.

STORE CLERK:

(without looking up)

Specialty foods. 7B.

Letty's off again. To the land of pink peppercorns,

dehydrated mushrooms and Chinese 5-Spice. But no olives.

Not a single bottle.

.

Letty paws through the shelves, knocking things over as she

scours the aisle. She is oblivious to the mess that

surrounds her.

An EMPLOYEE with a price checker walks half-way down the

aisle. He spots Letty and rushes away.

LETTY:

Where are they? Where are they?

More and more items crash to the ground. Letty is beyond

frenzied.

EMPLOYEE (OS FILTERED)

Manager to 7B. Manager please.

LETTY:

Where are they?

Letty pounds her fist against the shelf. More goods fall.

Shoppers stare. The Manager rushes toward Letty.

MANAGER:

What's wrong, Miss?

LETTY:

Tell me where they are.

She gestures. She knocks over a bottle of fat-free

Lingonberry preserves. It crashes to the floor, spewing jam.

MANAGER:

I think you should go now.

LETTY:

I need my olives.

29.

MANAGER:

It's time to leave.

The Manager places his hand on the small of Letty's back as

if to guide her out of the store. Letty backs away. The

manager grabs hold of her wrist.

Letty whacks him in the shoulder with her free hand. She

pushes him away. Hard. He staggers against the opposite

shelf.

Customers and employees gather at both ends of the aisle,

riveted by the spectacle.

MANAGER:

Call security. Where's security,

please?

Letty takes her arm and slides a shelf-full of products onto

the floor. They crash and break. She screams.

LETTY:

F***ing olives. F***ing, f***ing

olives.

Two SECURITY GUARDS turn the corner. Letty spots them. One

creeps closer.

LETTY:

No, no, no. Go away.

Guard One continues to approach, cooing encouragingly. Letty

throws a jar at him. It clips him in the head. He turns

away, bleeding. Guard Two pulls out a billy club.

MANAGER:

(yelling)

Call police. Now.

Letty stops. Dazed. She turns around. Guard Two walks toward

her. His stance suggests he's stalking a wild animal.

Letty tries to brush off the jam that dribbles down her

skirt. She looks to both ends of the aisle.

LETTY'S POV:

Faces, dozens and dozens of faces, stare down at her. People

point. One boy LAUGHS.

BACK TO SCENE:

30.

Letty backs against the shelf. She slides down it until she

is sitting on the floor. She buries her head in her knees,

sobbing.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

INT. LETTY'S ROOM - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY

The room is furnished like a Hyatt Hotel minus anything you

might use to kill yourself. Letty sleeps.

MICHAEL, mid 30's, in jeans and T-shirt, sits in a chair next

to the bed. He looks intently at Letty, checks his watch and

taps her on the shoulder. She stirs.

MICHAEL:

Miss Mayer? Miss Mayer?

LETTY'S POV:

Everything's a morning blur. Gradually, items come into

focus -- the intercom for the nurse, the door with a window

in it, the three tissue boxes on the bedside table. It's a

hospital, all right. Letty's vision is filled suddenly by

Michael's concerned face peering into hers.

BACK TO SCENE:

MICHAEL:

I know you've had a rough night,

but I have a few questions for you,

Miss Mayer, or Letitia.

Letty pulls herself up to a sitting position.

MICHAEL:

Do you mind if I call you Letitia?

LETTY:

Letty.

MICHAEL:

(consulting his notes)

First off, Letty, can you tell me

where you are?

LETTY:

I answered these questions last

night.

31.

MICHAEL:

I know this can be a real drag, but

the attending physician on day

shift is required to do his own

prelim exam when a patient is

admitted during the night.

LETTY:

Hillview Psychiatric Hospital.

MICHAEL:

Great. Now, Letty, I'd like you to

remember three items. I'm going to

ask you to repeat them in just a

few minutes. They are chair, cup

and ball. Did you get that?

Letty nods.

MICHAEL:

OK, let's subtract 6 from a

succession of numbers starting with

91.

LETTY:

85.

MICHAEL:

And 85 minus 6?

LETTY:

59.

Michael waits.

LETTY:

No, 79. Sorry, this makes me

nervous.

MICHAEL:

It's OK. It's not a pass-fail kind

of thing.

Letty smiles uncomfortably.

MICHAEL:

Now the three things I asked you to

remember.

LETTY:

Chair, cup and ball.

32.

MICHAEL:

Terrific.

Letty smiles, a real smile this time.

MICHAEL:

Let me shift gears here a minute...

(beat)

Do you ever hear voices that other

people don't hear or see things

they don't?

LETTY:

No.

MICHAEL:

What about patterns? Do you find

yourself checking and re-checking

locks? Or washing your hands over

and over again?

Letty shakes her head "no."

MICHAEL:

How about arranging your

possessions in a certain way?

Letty pauses.

MICHAEL:

Yes? Go right ahead.

LETTY:

Sometimes my food, and my clothes,

and my underwear.

Michael leans closer.

MICHAEL:

How do you sort it--by lace and

cotton?

LETTY:

By color.

MICHAEL:

What if it's got a pattern?

LETTY:

Is this really important? Because

I don't think it's a problem.

33.

MICHAEL:

I see.

(looking at his notes)

How long has it been since you've

done something you've enjoyed,

Letty?

LETTY:

(beat)

A while, I guess.

MICHAEL:

That must be really difficult.

Letty tears up. Michael puts his hand lightly on her arm.

MICHAEL:

Hey, it'll be OK. We'll make sure

of that.

Letty gives him an appreciative look.

MICHAEL:

For now, why don't you just take it

easy while I confer with my

colleagues. A nurse should be in

shortly.

INT. LETTY'S ROOM - LATER

Letty, dressed and made up, sits rigidly on the bed. She

writes in her organizer. DR. ROBERT EMLEE, early 40s and in

jeans, enters with his own organizer.

DR. EMLEE

Hello, Letitia. I'm Dr. Emlee, and

I have some questions to ask you...

LETTY:

I did this already.

DR. EMLEE

It's hospital policy...

LETTY:

To be interviewed every hour?

DR. EMLEE

I'm the only doctor making rounds

this morning.

34.

LETTY:

Well, I don't have hallucinations.

Honest.

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