VANESSA SHEMANDER HON

INT. BALLET DANCE ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON

 

 

Close up of two girls (17 years old) stretching at a corner, each with one leg on the bar. DIAMI (shorter girl) leaning with her left cheek on her left knee, TIFA with her right cheek on her right knee.

 

DIAMI (whispers)

We should get back to practising.

 

Tifa just smiles cheekily.

 

TEACHER (O.S)

(sounds annoyed)

Tifa! Diami!

 

Diami glances at Tifa, who, backfacing the teacher, makes an agonized expression. Both breathe deeply and runs over to the teacher.

 

TEACHER

(folds her arms, motions)

Show me what you have practiced.

 

Both girls finish the same set of moves. Teacher is silent.

 

TEACHER

(poker face)

It doesn’t mean that when I praise

you, Diami, you can get to slack off.

 

TEACHER

(towards Tifa, nods slightly)

Good progress. If you push harder,

you’ll probably be able to dance as

White Swan. (pauses for a while)

Don’t let me catch the both of you

again.

 

Scene fades out with the close up on Diami’s unhappy face.

 

INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE DANCE ROOM - 2AM

 

Tifa and Diami walk silently. Surrounding is dark, quiet, echoes slightly. Diami looks exhausted.

 

TIFA

(adjusts bag on her shoulder,

tilts her head)

Are you okay? You didn’t even take

a break after lesson ended.

 

No response from Diami. Her head is still bent low. She walks slowly and suddenly sways.

 

TIFA

(quickly grabs hold of her)

Get some rest seriously! You’re

pushing yourself too hard.

 

Scene fades with the silhouette of the two girls walking.

 

INT. DIAMI’S ROOM - 3AM

 

Diami drops onto the bed. She does not bother changing and falls asleep fast. We see her breathing for a while.

 

Door creaks.

 

Diami slowly opens her eyes. She does not move but glances towards the gap at the door.

There seems to be a shadow by it.

 

Diami closes her eyes. Slowly closes up on her face, then to her eyes only. She opens them again suddenly.

 

Screen changes immediately to a close up on the face of a girl who looks like Diami (HER SISTER). Smiling. With the dark room and only a faint light across her jaw, her smile looks somewhat sinister.

 

Her sister squeezes onto the bed with her.

 

Diami faces left. We hear the sound from the pillow as she turns her head. Her sister faces right. No sound. Both look at each other and smile.

 

Screen zooms out and fades as the sound of Diami talking to her sister gets muffled.

 

INT. DIAMI’S ROOM - 5AM

 

There is a wee bit of light in the room. Diami is sleepy.

 

DIAMI

(looks up to the ceiling)

We haven’t really talked like this

in a while. I miss this, Diana.

 

DIANA (her sister), still facing right, smiles. Close up on Diami’s face, who closes her eyes when Diana’s hand strokes her face. The bracelet on Diana’s wrist dangles silently.

 

DIAMI

I really want the White Swan...

Getting the Black Swan...

(yawns, voice trailing to a whisper)

Doesn’t make me the best... Second

best is as good as nothing at all.

 

Diami seems to have fallen asleep. Diana says something but it is nearly inaudible.

 

The screen blacks out.

 

DIANA (O.S)

(faint whisper)

It’ll get better from now, I promise.

 

INT. NOISY CANTEEN - 3PM

 

Tifa is asking Diami if she is nervous for the audtion later, over lunch. A classmate rushes over.

 

CLASSMATE

(breathlessly)

Tifa, you better come, hurry.

 

INT. CLASSROOM - 3 HOURS BEFORE AUDITION

 

Circle of girls around a table. They became silent and part when Tifa arrives. We see a torn costume as Tifa approaches.

 

Her face is expressionless as she picks up the pieces. Diami tries to help but Tifa pushes her away. As the classmates crowd around Tifa and try to comfort her, Diami notices a bracelet on the floor and walks over to pick it up.

 

Close up as her face turns serious. Close up on the bracelet with the letters D-I-A.

 

INT. CORRIDOR OUTISDE DORMS - TOP OF STAIRCASE

 

Diami clutches the railing and cries hard. Close up of the results on the wall behind her; Tifa as White Swan, Diami as Black Swan. Tifa runs in shortly and stops when she finds Diami. She takes a step closer to Diami.

 

TIFA

I’m sorry, I tried asking them if

we could swap roles, but they refused.

 

DIAMI

(steps away)

Go away! I don’t want this kind of

sympathy act!

 

TIFA

(tries hugging Diami)

Honestly, I don’t care about which

part I get, as long as we are

performing together.

 

Silence from Diami, struggling to break free.

 

TIFA

I knew it was you actually. My

audition dress. I saw you.

 

Diami froze. Her face grows fierce and she rushes down the stairs. Halfway down there was scream and she was pushed onto the landing as Tifa’s body rolled into her legs to the foot of the stairs.

 

Tifa lies unconscious. Diami hears a giggle and looks up, sees Diana, who flees. Diami chases after her and bumps into the teacher. She explains briefly and asks for help in catching Diana.

 

TEACHER

(looks confused)

There was no other girl except you.

 

As the teacher ushers Diami to Tifa (slow motion), flashbacks occur. Diami talked to no one on the bed that night and was actually wearing the bracelet. While tearing the dress, the bracelet came off (Tifa who went back to the classroom to find Diami for lunch saw Diami and when a classmate came, distracted the classmate away from the classroom). When struggling to get away from Tifa, Diami pushed her, causing her to lose her footing and accidentally grabbing Diami, who fell also, but onto the landing.

 

Flashbacks of Diana’s funeral, a white room with a dazed Diami holding a framed photo of Diana and herself, doctor talking to her parents outside, close up of the photo.

 

Closing up on Diami’s face with flashbacks repeating faster in between. Flashbacks become epileptic and stops with the close up on Diami’s eye. The screen turns black.

 

DIANA (O.S)

(faint whisper)

It’ll get better from now, I promise.