The Elevator-Pitch: A one act play by Max Abarientos
ACT 1
(Five people enter into an elevator and all press different buttons to go to different floors. Three of them look to be about college age. One woman is a bit older, she seems very tired. As if she’s lived several decades by 30. The oldest, a man in his mid-forties, is wearing a comic book shirt and has a kind smile on his face. He doesn’t have a beer belly, typical of men his age, but his beard is grown out and his hair hasn’t been cut in at least 2 months. He seems content. There is a whirr from the elevator and the air is filled with awkward silence as the metal box begins to move up. Suddenly the floor begins to shake and the elevator stops. The people begin to panic. Then an AUTOMATED MESSAGE plays over the speaker in the elevator.)
Automated Message: There is a detected mechanical error in UNIT 15478. Please stand by while nearby technicians assess the issue.
(The five begin to grumble. CORA takes out her phone and dials a number while RYAN begins to panic even more.)
Ryan: Absolutely not. No way. This cannot be happening.
Cora: No service. We just have to wait, I guess.
Tam: Lets try the elevator phone. (He pulls the phone off the wall and dials zero for operator) Hello operator? Yes. No. There was an automated message. Mhm… Alright, thank you. (He hangs up the phone) There’s nothing we can do until the technicians get here.
Ryan: This is my biggest fear. Oh god. What do we do? Should we try to shake the elevator or something?
Automated Message: Please do not make any sudden movements or jolts. Technicians are on their way.
(Terrible, distorted, hold music begins to play through the speaker.)
Ryan: Great. So we’re stuck here for God knows how long. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.
Mark: Hey man, breathe. It’ll be okay, technicians are on the way. They are gonna fix the elevator and everything will be okay.
(RYAN tries breathing exercises while TAM pulls a Gameboy out of his cargo pants pockets and begins playing it very loudly.)
Ryan (shouting): WILL YOU TURN THAT DOWN PLEASE?
Tam: Jeez, alright alright. (he turns the volume knob down) Don’t be so uptight, come sit and play with me.
(Having nothing better to do, RYAN reluctantly sits down with TAM and watches him play the game. LEA sits down on the floor and begins drawing in her sketchbook that she has pulled out of her bag.)
Ryan: What is the purpose of this game?
Tam: To do good deeds and help people.
Ryan: Hm. That's not very interesting. Where’s the fun and gameplay in that?
Tam (closing his Gameboy, offended): Then you come up with a better idea for a game. I mean we are in an elevator. Give me your best elevator pitch.
(RYAN stands up with pride but then quickly realizes that he shook the elevator in the process, as a loud scraping noise hits their eardrums. He grabs the rails on the wall and the AUTOMATED MESSAGE repeats itself.)
Automated Message: Please do not make any sudden movements or jolts. Technicians are on their way.
Ryan: Should not have done that. (he steadies himself against the railing) Well I’ve had this idea forever. Picture this — a rhythm game that uses classical songs like Beethoven and Mozart. All of the attack moves are musical notes and you are fighting these enemies and in order to defeat them, you have to get the right combo of notes to play like, I dunno, 8 bars of music. Then when you hit the right combo, you can kill the enemy. And there’s a bunch of levels too and each level has more difficult songs and combos. As you beat more levels you have to start playing longer songs and hit harder combos in order for you to play the right notes and hit the right attack moves.
Tam: That’s actually… not bad.
Ryan: Thanks. I was in band in high school.
Mark: Are you not still?
Ryan: No, I'm in my second semester at BU.
Mark (to Tam): Oh crap, I thought that kid was like fourteen.
Cora (turning to Ryan): Wait, I like your idea. What if the player is a conductor? Oh! And the enemies are musicians in an orchestra and the player is trying to get them to play the right notes?
Ryan: Hmm. I like that. But how would you incorporate the fight sequences if you aren’t actually fighting enemies?
Cora: Maybe instead of fighting combos, it’s like conducting combos. You have to wave your baton at the musicians in the right combo in order to get them to play the right notes.
Ryan: I like that. Tell me more.
(They step off to the side and have an inaudible, yet compelling conversation. Meanwhile TAM takes out his Gameboy again and resumes his game. MARK sits down next to him this time.)
Mark: So other than helping people, what else is this game about? Is there a story?
Tam: Well my friend Connor made it. He was in my Intro to Java class last semester and after the final he gave me this game as a parting gift for my modded Gameboy because he knows I like that type of stuff.
Mark: Modded Gameboy? Back in my day, if you unscrewed the back of your NES, you lost the warranty.
Tam: Well it’s pretty simple really, I just bought a small, programmable version of the original Gameboy hardware and reprogrammed it. Then I took out the old hardware and soldered the new hardware into it. Now I can take old game cartridges and put whatever files I want into them and play them on here. Within reason of course.
Mark: That’s awesome man. So tell me more about your friend Connor’s game. Is there a story?
Tam: Kind of. It’s a game about death, you see. You play as a person who has just died and you are stuck in purgatory. God, or whatever omnipotent being you chose to believe in, tells you that in order to make it into heaven, you have to do good deeds for people down on earth. So basically, every level is someone asking you for help and you can choose to help them, or you can choose to tell them to fuck off and beg God to let you in. It’s an interestingly morbid commentary on kindness if you ask me.
Mark: I’ll say. You gotta be going through some rough shit in order to create something like that.
Tam: Well it’s dedicated to his brother who died of Leukemia. Apparently, he passed right at the beginning of the semester and he wanted to make something for the world to remember him by. The player is actually named David, after his brother, and I guess all the good deeds you do are things that his brother was known for doing. It’s very sentimental and I’m honored that he gave me a copy.
Cora (overhearing their conversation): What an incredible way to grieve a loss.
Tam: What do you mean?
Cora: Oh nothing, just that I could never have done something as incredibly noble as that when my mother died.
Mark: Well we all handle death differently.
Cora: You could say I’m still handling it. My mother died only about a year ago.
Mark: I’m very sorry for your loss.
Cora: Thanks. There isn’t much loss to be sorry for, though. As soon as the funeral was over, my house was swarmed with lawyers and businessmen and accountants. All sorts of men in suits, whose names I don’t think I ever got. I used to work for my mother before she died. After I graduated college, she got me an internship at her company and I’ve worked my way up to the top. I became her second in command. I was ordering around department heads, designing cover art, I was even the final say on most of our creative projects when my mom was too busy with running the entire company to oversee anything. She always said I was born to run the world. I just didn’t think the world was Lighthouse Media and that I’d be running it at 32. Without her. (she begins to choke up and sits down with TAM and MARK) I didn’t think I’d be going through life without her. You know, she might have been my boss, but she was also my mom. She got me through high school. She bought me my first car. She taught me how to play the piano. Heck, she gave birth to me and changed my dirty diapers. I just… I never thought I would lose her. I thought she was always going to be around.
Mark: We all think our parents live forever when we are young. But the reality is their time will come and go. The best we can do is live with their memories and their legacy. You’ve got one hell of a legacy to live up to though, I must say.
Cora: A legacy is one way to put it. My mom was a millionaire, but I didn’t get a cent from her will. What I got instead was her title as CEO of Lighthouse Media and a pretty nice house by the water. (she smiles sadly) I love that house, though. That was the house I grew up in. My mom wanted my brother and I to have everything I wanted as a kid because my dad left and she was always working. She used the child support money to buy a big house for us when Dad left. When I was young she was never home because Lighthouse Media wasn’t very big yet and she was trying to sell shares to investors. We couldn’t really afford a nanny either so my brother and I would be left alone after school in this big empty house with lots of toys and a T.V to watch horror movies because we were never allowed to watch them when she was home. (she laughs through her tears) You know, now that I think about it, there aren’t many memories to live with either.
(MARK pulls CORA in for a hug while TAM pauses his game and puts the Gameboy away)
Cora (sniffling): I’m sorry about all this. I don’t even know your name, but I think I got snot on your sleeve.
Mark (laughing): It’s okay. My name is Mark. And you can cry on my sleeve whenever you need to.
Ryan: I don’t mean to be rude, but did you say your mom was the CEO of Lighthouse Media?
Cora (wiping her tears and getting up): She was, yes. Now I am.
Ryan: As in the video game company that has been under fire for that one creative director getting arrested?
Mark: What did he do?
Ryan: Apparently he was texting young girls and getting them to send him pictures of themselves. According to the news, all of the girls were younger than 18. Pretty disgusting stuff, if you ask me.
Mark: That’s horrible. Was he fired?
Ryan: Oh hell yeah. It was right after one of their recent games absolutely flopped. Apparently “Smash Roller-Blades” had a lot of bugs. How hard is it to program a game about knocking roller-blading kids off their feet?
Tam: Pretty hard actually. You have to create a randomized sequencer. Then program all sorts of hitboxes and design polygons-
Ryan: It was a rhetorical question.
Cora: I’m not really supposed to reveal the details of his termination to the public-
Mark: What was his name?
Ryan: Hm. I don’t remember. I just saw the article headline on my phone while I was waiting for the bus.
Cora: Please stop talking about this. I could get in so much trouble if the details of Mr. Dyer’s-
Ryan: Vance Dyer! That’s it that was his name! (CORA gasps and cover’s her mouth) He was a pretty big department head I remember.
Cora: Guys we really cannot be talking about this! What if someone hears?
Mark: We are literally trapped in an elevator, no one can hear us. (CORA sighs in frustration) So what department was he in?
Cora (giving in to the conversation): Vance Dyer was our Creative Director for the video game production division. The man was brilliant. All of our successful games were all his ideas. Anything he brought to me or my mom was approved on the spot. He was the one that proposed “Echoes of the Forgotten.”
Ryan and Tam: I love that game!
Tam: That game got me through high school! I remember porting a version of it to my school computer to play during math class.
Ryan: I used to watch PatrickPlayz streams of “Echoes” after school while I did my homework.
Tam: Did you watch his “Minecraft” streams?
Ryan: Hell yeah, every Wednesday at 5 o’clock after track practice.
(TAM and RYAN are beaming at each other. Their mutual love of video games has made them realize that they are more alike than they thought.)
Cora: He was actually taken into custody long before the public found out about everything he did. We had a secondary creative director who was still in the process of interviewing for a different position, working on “Smash Roller-Blades.” As soon as it released, Vance was put on trial and found guilty for sexual abuse and that’s when the media started putting Lighthouse under fire.
Mark: That’s horrible. How is Lighthouse- How are you handling all this?
Cora: Badly. We still haven’t been able to find a replacement creative director and if we can’t put out a hit soon, we might have to start selling most of the production department off to a third party. (she pauses to think) My mother never would have wanted this.
Tam: What if instead of selling off production, you make budget cuts?
Ryan: Yeah, like no more company sponsored brunches on Thursdays.
Tam: Or get rid of the one janitor that just sits on his phone all day and never cleans the men’s bathroom. (CORA laughs)
Ryan: Maybe instead of everyone in the office working in cubicles, they all sit at desks in rows like we did in school.
Tam: And the depression caused by that will make at least a few people want to quit.
Cora: I like everyone that works here, though. I interviewed almost everyone myself. Every employee at Lighthouse belongs at Lighthouse. I couldn’t bear to let anyone go. Not even the janitor.
Ryan: What if you started selling unused office supplies on ebay? You know the printer on the third floor that doesn’t work anymore? Sold. The moldy water cooler that definitely violates HIPAA? Sold. Mr. Cobb’s stapler? Sold. That’s like three thousand dollars if you just sell old stuff that nobody uses.
Cora: I appreciate the idea, but no one would want any of that stuff. Plus, even if someone did, three thousand dollars isn’t enough to save the Creative Department.
Tam: Hmmm. I’m stumped. There isn’t much you can do without firing a whole department.
Cora: The only thing I can do is pray that another one of my family members doesn't die.
Mark: Another one?
Cora: My brother… (she takes a deep breath) has stage 3 lymphoma.
(The four exchange worried glances. LEA looks up from her sketchbook for the first time. She stares sadly at CORA.)
Cora: The survival rate is 85%-
Mark: That’s good. He’s got a chance.
Cora (begins to cry again): but he hasn’t been doing too great recently. (she breaks down while MARK pulls her into a hug) I’m just not ready to lose someone again.
(The elevator is now silent. The four look at each other while CORA begins to sob uncontrollably. Slowly, one by one, they gather around CORA and hug her. MARK is already holding her, RYAN moves first, then TAM, and finally LEA puts her sketchbook down and stands up to hug CORA. They stay like this for a moment. The stage is quiet. The thought of staying in this elevator for eternity doesn’t seem too bad anymore. Suddenly, an AUTOMATED MESSAGE plays, taking them out of the moment.)
Automated Message: Technicians have arrived. Maintenance is being performed on UNIT 15478. Please stand by while technicians assess the issue.
(The five burst into laughter. TAM takes out his Gameboy again and hands it to CORA)
Tam: Here. Do you want to play?
Cora (wiping her tears): Sure. (she takes it from him)
Tam: I’m already on the last level. All you have to do is bring that little girl her favorite book from the library before it closes for Christmas. See the timer? (CORA nods) That’s how much time you have left to get the book.
Cora: I got it. Don’t worry little girl. I won’t let you down.
(Various beeps and boops begin to play from the machine. CORA wipes the tears from her face as she begins to focus. There is a faint ticking noise underneath the music, urging her to be quick. After about a minute the music starts to speed up as the clock ticks down even more. RYAN, TAM, MARK, and LEA are watching CORA as she begins to press buttons more quickly and aggressively on the old machine. Her thumbs are moving faster and faster. RYAN leans in to see the miniature screen better. Finally, a success bell sounds from the little speakers. She has beaten the level. All five sigh with relief as somber music begins to play.)
Tam: What was the name of the book?
Cora: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.”
(LEA smiles)
Lea: That’s my favorite book.
(The four whip their heads around in shock that the girl with the sketchbook has spoken.)
Ryan: Woah, you can speak!
Lea: Of course I can speak. What do you take me for?
Ryan: I don’t know, I thought maybe the fear of being in a broken elevator paralyzed you and prevented you from speaking.
Lea: Says the one that had to do square breathing to calm down. (RYAN gasps dramatically, offended) Oh please, it’s not like the elevator is gonna drop us to our deaths. It just needs maintenance. This building is like a million years old, we just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Tam: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is your favorite book?
Lea: Yes. I won a copy of it as part of a scholarship I received my senior year of high school. My brothers were so proud of me getting a full ride to Tufts that they got their lazy, illiterate, asses to read my favorite book after I was finished.
Tam: Hey, the little girl in this level kind of looks like you. Like, the same glasses and hair and everything. A kid version of you.
Lea: That’s because it is me.
Mark: It is?
Lea: Connor and David are my older brothers. They are twins. Or, were twins, I guess, before David died. (TAM’s jaw drops to the floor) After he died I told Connor I wanted to make an art piece dedicated to the things David did for people while he was alive. I tried all sorts of things, painting, digital art, sketching, animation. But nothing could really capture David’s essence the way I wanted. That’s when Connor suggested a video game.
Cora: Video games are my favorite kind of art form.
Lea: Mine too. So I gave Connor the idea to design each level after the things he did for his family and friends. For example, one time when he was 16 he helped a man push his car out of a ditch that he had crashed in during a snowstorm.
Tam: Level 10! I remember that one. I had to ask Connor to help me with that one because the combo was so confusing to get right to push the car out.
Lea: And another time when we were apple picking as kids, a little boy wanted an apple from a really high branch on a tree, so he made Connor and I lift him up so that he could get the apple for the kid.
Tam: And then he helped the little boy bake an apple pie?
Lea: Well actually, he helped him make apple cider. I think Connor changed that part of the story to make the game make more sense.
Tam: Wow. Your brother was amazing.
Lea: Both of them are. I didn’t know that Connor made multiple copies of the game. I thought that all he did was make copies for our family as Christmas gifts the year David died. See this is mine.
(She pulls out her laptop from her bag and loads a file. Music that is the exact same, although better quality, as the Gameboy begins to play.)
Tam: I didn’t know Connor had a sister.
Lea: Well I haven’t seen him in a while. We go to different schools now. Plus I have worked at that cafe down by Ann Street almost every day since I graduated early. I don’t have much time to see my brother anymore.
Mark: Terell’s? The coffee shop up 42nd?
Lea: Yeah, how did you know?
Mark: That’s right across the street from my comic book store.
Lea: Old Town Comics? I’m surprised that the place is still running. I’ve never seen anyone go in there.
Mark: I get the occasional customer.
Lea: Yeah like once a month. (MARK rolls his eyes) Hey, I’m just saying. How do you manage to stay in business?
Mark: I’ve got my ways.
Cora: So you were the one that came up with the idea for the game?
Lea: Yeah, but I’m not good at computers and stuff so I had Connor make it for me. But all the level designs and art was me. The music was made by my friend at Berklee.
Cora: That’s fantastic. I love the game, I wish I could play all of it and not just the last level.
Lea: I’ve been begging my brother to release a version for the app store for like forever. When we get out of this death box, I’m going to give him a call and tell him to do that.
Ryan: I loved your ideas for each of the levels to be things that David did while he was alive. How did you come up with the idea for the afterlife theme?
Lea: Well actually the original idea was just a game about his life. But I wanted it to be more deep. So I suggested that the player is actually dead and they have the choice to do good if they are told they are going to get into heaven. At the end of the game, you are told that there actually is no heaven and your spirit is set free. So ultimately whatever you did on earth didn’t matter. Regardless of if you chose to do the good deeds or not, your spirit would be set free. The message is that there should be no incentive to do good for people. Only the choice to do good. And that’s what David did. He chose good every day of his life.
(CORA pulls LEA into a big hug and LEA hugs her back. Meanwhile, MARK pulls out a checkbook from his jeans pocket and writes an amount on it. When they pull apart, he hands the check to CORA.)
Cora: Oh no, I couldn’t possibly take this.
Mark: No, I insist.
Cora: But this is… (she looks down and gasps) Oh my goodness, Mark this is a lot of money!
Mark: Please take it. It is yours anyway.
Cora: What do you mean it’s mine?
Mark: Look at it once more. (she looks down and covers her mouth)
Cora: Mark Weiss? As in-
Mark: Minette Weiss. And I assume your name is Cora?
Cora: Cora Weiss-Jones. How did you-
Mark: My mother was the CEO of Lighthouse Media. But before that, she was a teen mom in the Bronx who had no way of raising me. So she put me up for adoption and once her company blew up, she started sending me checks every month.
Cora: She never told me I had another brother.
Mark: She was ashamed of me. She didn’t want the press to throw dirt on her company name because the face of Lighthouse Media had a secret kid that she kept hidden away. So she paid me $700 every month for 42 years to keep me quiet.
Cora: And when she died…
Mark: All her money went to me. I guess it’s her weird, fucked up, way of apologizing to me. Like “sorry I was never in your life, but here’s 60 million dollars.” Not that I’m complaining of course. I used that money to pay off my debt and now I just keep my comic book store running. It’s more money than I’ll ever need to spend. I’ve just been donating money to various charities every month. I think it’s what mom would have wanted for me. I would have liked to have gotten to know her though. Just have lunch with her once before she passed.
Cora: She was an amazing woman. Although, I’m starting to second guess that now.
Mark: No, don’t let anything I say taint the image of your mother. She was a wonderful CEO and a wonderful mom. I don’t doubt that for a second. I was just not the son she needed at that time in her life.
Cora: But she never made an effort to be in your life! Not even a little bit!
Mark: She did what she had to do for you and your—our brother.
Cora: She never told us about you. Never.
Mark: Hey, don’t worry about me. My adopted mom and dad were great. They raised me well, they gave me food, a home, a good education. They used the money my mom would send me to save for college and I got a degree in business from UMass Amherst. Look at where I am now. I own my own business. I live a good life, and I’m happy. It’s what mom would have wanted. She could have never given me this life if she had kept me at 16. That’s something I’ve come to accept and respect her for as I’ve grown up.
Cora: Were you ever mad at her? For leaving you behind and raising another family without you?
Mark: When I was younger, yes. I found out that I was adopted by accident when I was ten and that made me a troubled kid all throughout middle school. I asked myself every day why she left me. Why wasn’t I good enough for her? Why did she choose money over me? But then I started hearing about her in the news and I became proud of her. I was proud that she got the life she deserved, even if it was without me in it. I never knew about you, though. Not until after the funeral and I saw your name replace hers as the CEO of Lighthouse Media.
Cora: I didn’t see you at the funeral.
Mark: I didn’t know there was one. Nobody knew I was her kid so I suppose no one thought to invite me. I didn’t even find out she died until I saw it in the news.
Cora: I’m so sorry.
Mark: You have nothing to be sorry for, Cora. (they hug)
Ryan (to LEA): I love your game. The art is fantastic.
Lea: Thank you. I love your idea for a game too. I can just picture it. The music and action sequences. What if, at the end of the game, you conduct an entire concert? Like all of the songs from the whole game play and you have to hit every combo all over again?
Ryan: I love it! But instead of all of the songs, you get to choose which of your favorite songs at the end you get to play?
Lea: Yes! And there’s endless replay opportunities to unlock different songs for your concert. If you make certain decisions or pick different musicians to teach, you’ll unlock more difficult songs.
(RYAN closes his eyes and starts to wave his arms around like a conductor. LEA laughs and hits him on the arm, snapping him back to reality.)
Ryan: Hey! What was that for?
Lea: You look stupid. What’s your name anyway?
Ryan: Ryan. And I do not look stupid.
Lea: I’m Lea. (she looks around and points at each person, saying their name out loud) Ryan. Cora. Mark. What’s your name?
Tam: Tam. I’ll be sure to tell Connor that I met you.
Lea: I’ll be sure to ask him how he managed to get someone to like him.
Cora: Wait a minute. This is it!
Mark: What is it?
Cora: You two! Ryan and Lea! You are what I’ve been looking for. You two are just the young and creative minds I need to run the creative department at Lighthouse. With this check, (she smiles at MARK) and you two coming up with game ideas, we might not have to fire anyone or sell a cooler after all! This game, the music one, this could be a hit! This could be what saves Lighthouse Media.
(Suddenly the elevator roars back to life and begins to move. The five steady themselves as the elevator ascends. It feels as if no time has truly passed at all. An AUTOMATED MESSAGE plays overhead.)
Automated Message: UNIT 15478 has been repaired. We apologize for the inconvenience.
(The elevator comes to a stop with a ding. The doors open. MARK hesitates before stepping in-between the doors to hold them open.)
Mark: This is my floor. (he takes a pen and a post-it note and scribbles something down and hands it to CORA) This is my phone number. Give me a call. Let’s have lunch sometime. Take that check as a donation from Old Town Comics.
Cora: Thank you.
(The doors close and the elevator moves again. Shortly after, it stops with another ding and the doors open. This time, TAM stands in the automatic doors.)
Tam: This was fun. Lea and Ryan, it was nice to meet you. And Cora, good luck with your business endeavors. (he steps out)
Lea: Wait! (she blocks the doors with her arm and rips a page out of her sketchbook to hand to TAM) For you. I drew it while you were playing your game.
Tam: Is this me?
Lea: Yep!
Tam: It’s fantastic! Wow, thank you.
Lea: No, thank you. For playing the game about David and keeping his memory alive. (she lets her arm go and the doors close)
Cora: So what do you two think? Do you want to work for Lighthouse Media? I can get everything set up for you. You’ll have your own office, you’ll be a team. I get you anything you guys need to come up with the best video game ideas.
Ryan: Well, I’m still in school.
Cora: It can be a remote job if you like. You don’t have to come in.
Ryan: I’m not really looking to just think of ideas for a living. I want to create them. That’s why I’m studying music tech. I want to be a sound engineer.
Cora: Then I can put you in the production department. You can sound design whatever video game we have in production, while still giving us ideas for the next one.
(The elevator reaches another floor with a ding and the doors open once more. RYAN steps out into the hallway.)
Ryan: Hmm. I’ll think about it. Here, let me give you my phone-
(The doors close, ending the conversation.)
Cora (disappointed, but still persistent): What about you Lea? Are you in?
Lea: I can’t. You know Terell’s? (CORA nods) Well I actually own it now. Mr. Terell decided Boston wasn’t for him and left everything to move to Hawaii. So he left the coffee shop to me because I was his best, and most educated, employee I guess.
Cora: And owning a coffee shop…
Lea: Is my dream job. I’m not ready to give that up yet. (CORA nods understandingly) But I know that you are going to find someone to creatively direct the hell out of your company. I just know it.
(The elevator dings and the doors open for the fourth time.)
Lea: And Cora, (she steps out) tell your brother you love him. Tell him you love him before you can’t tell him anything anymore. Tell him you love him before it's too late. (the elevator doors close)
Cora (to nobody): I will.
(The elevator whirrs and reaches its final destination with one last ding. The doors open, CORA steps out into the hallway, check in hand, and heads to the end of the hall. She opens the door and her brother MICHAEL is in a hospital bed, playing video games, arm attached to an IV. He coughs loudly. CORA knocks on the door and MICHAEL looks over, excited to see her.)
Michael: Hey! Where have you been? You said you’d be here an hour ago. Mom was right, you really are chronically late to things.
Cora: It’s a long story.
Michael: Well I’m playing “Echoes of the Forgotten” for like the 50th time. Do you wanna play with me?
(CORA walks over and sits on the bed. She hugs her brother tightly. Her brother hugs her back.)
Cora: I love you, Michael.
Michael: I love you, Cora.
(The lights dim to black as the mix of elevator and video game music fades slowly into nothing.)
The End