THE VOLUNTEERS
NSF © 2015
INT. Office Kitchen, Corporate America. Morning.
CO-WORKER, 20-something white male, sits at a table reading a newspaper. Enter BLACK GIRL, 20-something. She puts her lunch in the fridge. CO-WORKER looks up from his newspaper. He's super cheery!
Co-Worker: Hey did you hear?! We're going to Governor’s Island
this week for our summer friday!
Black Girl, very underwhelmed.
Black Girl: Oh, nice.
Co-Worker, flippantly.
Co-Worker: I think we're gonna be like, gardening or something.....
Black Girl side-eyes Co-Worker.
BEAT.
He is oblivious.
Black Girl: Gardening?
Co-Worker, excitement runneth over. He walks over to Black Girl.
Co-Worker: Yeeesssssss! Check your email. I can't wait. It's gonna be so much fun!
INT. Black Girl’s Office, Corporate America. Morning - Continuous.
Enter Black Girl. She sits at her desk. She opens up her email.
The Email:
“This Friday, we will be ferrying over to Governors Island to volunteer! In case you don't know, Governors Island used to be a military base for two centuries until the federal government sold it to NY in 2003.
Our group project is to clean, beautify, garden and landscape in the Historic District.
Our tasks will include the remediation of each garden bed, aeration and tilling of soil, weeding and mulching planting beds, and re-planting historically appropriate perennial plants and flowers.
While we will be in the shadiest area of the park I highly recommend that you bring sunscreen, a refillable water bottle, and a hat (why not?).
Once we finish the project around 2:30pm, we’lll be heading for snacks and refreshments!
Be at the ferry at 9:30 and ready to take off at 10 sharp!
Excited to dig holes with you guys.
HR LADY”
She scrunches her face as she quickly skims the screen and mumbles out loud. She squints.
Black Girl: Ferrying over to Governor’s Island….military base for over
two centuries….sold to New York…restoring historic appearance….tasks
include tilling of soil, weeding….re-planting historically appropriate plants…
BEAT.
Enter SUPER CHEERY HR LADY, 30-something and overly caffeinated.
HR Lady: Good morning!
Black Girl, startled, looks up from her screen. She rolls her eyes.
BEAT.
HR Lady flips thru papers on a clipboard. Encouragingly.
HR Lady: I see you haven't signed up yet for Friday's activity!
Black girl: Yea...I, um, was just reading your email…
HR: I am so excited, aren’t you? We're going to Gov Island! Have you been?
Black Girl shakes her head. Flatly.
Black girl: Nope.
BEAT.
HR Lady: Oh, it's so beautiful, it has a lot of big houses...and we're gonna, you
know, pull a couple weeds, dig a few holes,
really get our hands down and dirty.
BEAT.
Black Girl nods along.
HR Lady: It'll be, you know, a wonderful bonding experience for the team.
Black Girl is very skeptical.
Black Girl: Hmmm mmm. And, uh, how do you get there?
HR Lady, reassuringly.
HR Lady: We're gonna take a boat. But don't worry, it's
big enough to hold everybody comfortably.
BEAT.
HR Lady looks down at her watch.
HR Lady: Oh, I'm late for my next meeting. Don’t forget to sign up! And bring a
water bottle. It's supposed to be another scorcher! See you Friday!
HR Lady waves and exits.
Black Girl looks back at her computer screen. She checks the Friday forecast.
BEAT.
INT. Elevator, Corporate America. Evening.
Black Girl enters the elevator. HR Lady yells.
HR Lady: Hold it please!
Black Girl presses the close door button urgently. HR Lady runs onto the elevator, breathless, fumbling her bag and coat.
HR Lady: Thank you for holding the elevator for me!
Black Girl rolls her eyes away from HR Lady.
BEAT.
Black Girl smiles weakly to HR Lady.
Black Girl: You're welcome.
The doors close. The elevator descends. They stand in an awkward silence. HR Lady forces a conversation.
HR Lady: So see you on Friday?
Black Girl enunciates, slowly and deliberately. HR Lady nods along.
Black Girl: Ummm, so about that…I read your email and, uh, let me see
if I understand this correctly. You want me to get on a boat, to go to an island
that I've never been to, stand outside in the hot ass sun to pull weeds on
somebody else's property for a few hours, in no shade with a bunch of
other people all wearing the same clothes?
BEAT.
HR Lady nods enthusiastically, this went completely over her head.
HR Lady: Yes!
BEAT.
Black Girl, flatly.
Black Girl: Yea, I think I'm gonna take a pass on that.
But, uh, you guys have fun.
The elevator doors open. Black Girl exits, shaking her head. HR Lady stands in elevator, confused.
BEAT.
SUPERCUT.
INT. Bedroom, Black Girl’s Apartment. Friday Morning.
Black Girl calmly wakes up in bed and stretches.
EXT. Ferry. Morning - Continuous.
HR Lady and Co-Worker lead the employees in a single file line onto a packed ferry. They are already sweating.
INT. Ferry. Morning - Continuous.
The group crams into uncomfortable spaces for the ferry ride.
BEAT.
INT. Starbucks. Morning - Continuous.
Black Girl picks up mobile order at Starbucks.
INT. Nail Salon. Morning - Continuous.
Black Girl gets a manicure.
EXT. Garden Area, Governor’s Island. Afternoon - Continuous.
The group labors under the sun, pulling weeds, wiping sweat off their brows with dirty hands, scratching mosquito bites with dirty fingernails.
BEAT.
EXT. City Park. Afternoon - Continuous.
Black Girl calmly sits on a blanket in the shade of a large tree with a gentle breeze. She sips her Starbucks. She calmly scrolls through her social media timeline. She stops on a photo of her sweaty and beleaguered co-workers, smiling weakly in the heat.
Black Girl, sighs and shakes her head.
Black Girl: It’s giving reparations, sis.
BEAT.
INT. Outdoor Beer Garden. Early Evening.
HR Lady, Co-Worker and the group look worn out, barely able to lift their beer mugs.
Enter Black Girl, looking refreshed. She sits next to Co-Worker.
Black girl: So, how was it?
Co-Worker takes a deep sigh.
Co-Worker: It was hard work out there…
Black Girl smiles and daintily sips a glass of prosecco.
Black Girl: Oh, I bet.
BEAT.