Girlbossing

The Invite

Y/N: "I thought I had defeated evil for good this time."

Society Against Evil (SAE): We have a way for you to get back. But your friends will need to die.

This contract binds you to Everlock. Save the town, and you will return to the living.  Fail, and be lost among the dead forever.

LETTER: My friends, I'm going on an extraordinary adventure, and I’m in need of your help.  And so are hundreds of others.

(Knock on Manon’s door. She opens it to find a delivery man.)

Delivery Man: "I have a letter for you."

Manon: "Bitch, where’s my burger? I didn’t order this."

(Reads the letter.)

My friends, I'm going on an extraordinary adventure, and I’m in need of your help, and so are hundreds of others.  This is not an invitation to a ball or a dinner party.  It’s an invitation to embark on a dangerous mission.

It may sound impossible, but there’s a town trapped in the 1970s, and very soon everyone in it will be dead—unless we do something about it.  There’s a dark séance that will take us back in time. But for it to work, you must choose a personality reminiscent of that era, and dress like them.  Remember: nothing from the modern world can come with you.

Yuna: "Can I bring my gloss, though?"

The people of Everlock will know their role and their place, but you will be operating without knowledge or understanding of what’s to come.  This Friday the 13th, the doorway to Everlock will be open, and we will only have that one night...  To complete our mission.

Chaewon: "Don't worry, Y/N. I'm on the way."

Journeying Back in Time

Minju: "Where’s Y/N? I haven’t seen her in a while. Like, a couple months."

CONFESSIONAL – Manon: We’re in, like, the middle of nowhere, and it’s dark, and we’re literally by a fire. We’ve been waiting for like five hours. I’m like, “Honey, that’s just bad hosting."

Wonhee: "I thought this was just a day out or a variety show. Like, I thought this was gonna be a challenge. I didn’t realize it was, like, a full-on mission in the ’70s."

Giselle: "Why did she have us meet her here? Is this the town?"

Ryujin (rolling her eyes): "No, this is clearly not the town. The letter from Y/N said there’s a town stuck in the 1970s we have to save. Now, I love the 1970s. I’m just here to see if we can actually time travel."

(After hours of waiting, Y/N finally arrives.)

Y/N: "You guys came! Oh my God! I didn’t know if you were gonna come or not!"

(Group hug, voices overlapping.)

Bae: "We’ve been waiting for hours! We were really worried about you. But... can you tell us about this town?"

Y/N: "Yeah. So, I need your help. I really don’t know much about how we get there. But I was given this—and we need to save this town."

CONFESSIONAL – Y/N: So, I have a mission. I need to save this town if I want to come back to life. And if that requires my friends putting themselves in danger… it’s what I have to do.

The Carnival

(All scream as a clown pops out from behind a curtain.)

Clown: "It's your lucky day! Because the carnival's in town!" (laughs)

CONFESSIONAL – Rei: "I can deal with vampires, I can deal with werewolves and all sorts of other things. But clowns? Why does it have to be clowns?"

Hyein: "Are clowns anyone's thing? Like, no one likes clowns."

Yujin: "I find clowns delightful."

Clown: "We have a strong man, a snake woman, dolls with knives! It's like a bloody Christmas every day! We will be friends soon, and I've got a good feeling about that. Enjoy the ride!"

(The curtains open, revealing a cute retro carnival.)

Ningning: "Oh, look, there's rides. This is cute, though. What's there to save? This all looks fun!"

(A handsome guy walks up to them.)

Guy: "Hey. How are you guys doing? Where are you going tonight, huh?"

CONFESSIONAL – Manon: "So some homeboy approached us, AKA approached me. I'm like, 'Oh my God, like, you're kind of, like, everything.'"

Yuna: "Who are you?"

Bangchan: "I'm Bangchan."

Yena: "He's lying!" (Everyone looks at her like she's an idiot.)

Bangchan: "Why don't you just play some games and have a good time before my mom shows up, you know?"

Wonhee: "Aww, are you a mama's boy?"

Bangchan: "My mom is the mayor."

CONFESSIONAL – Lara: "He's cute, but he starts talking to us, and we're like, 'We don't know you, though. So, what are you doing here?'"

Yujin: "There's free food. There's free games. Let's settle down. You know, the problems will come to us. We're fine."

Y/N: "Everyone's happy. Everyone's normal. They're all having a great time. Maybe everything won't be so bad after all."

(People cheer as Hyein wins the ring toss. A worker hands her a pink pony.)

Worker: "Yeah. Her name is Blanche and she belongs to you now."

Hyein: "Hey, Blanche. Thank you, sir!"

CONFESSIONAL – Ryujin: "So, the guy seems extremely happy. Like, I would say, like, questionably happy… kinda scary to be honest."

Chaewon: "So we're here. Now what do we do?"

Y/N: "I don't know. Does this town need saving?"

(Looks at a random townsperson.)

Y/N: "Smile if you need saving."

(The girl smiles... a little too perfectly. Y/N and Chaewon make eye contact and giggle nervously.)

Y/N & Chaewon: "She smiled!"

CONFESSIONAL – Y/N: I feel bad that I'm keeping a secret about my mission. But at the same time, I'm kind of relieved because it doesn't seem like there's any danger in this town.

Kyujin: "If we're here to save the town, how can we use our talents to help? Because, like, as a dancer, I don't know how much I can do."

Lara: "I can mix things… like I'm a DJ and stuff but like, have you ever done detective work before?"

Minju: "No, this is my first job hehe…"

Lara: "Oh! So we're screwed. Okay."

(As the group walks along, they run into a mysterious woman...)

CONFESSIONAL – Wonhee: "I was honestly a little freaked out by this lady! But I thought, 'Let's use my social skills as a social butterfly and see what's going on here.'"

Wonhee: "Annyeong! Hello…"

Woman: "The stars."

Wonhee: "The stars? She's talking about the stars..."

Woman: "The stars have been talking to me. All kinds of secrets."

Wonhee: "So, what are they saying? Are they friendship secrets, light-hearted, dark secrets? Dark--Serious?"

Woman: "He's coming."

Haerin: "Woah, I—I'm sorry, wh--who's coming?"

(The woman closes her eyes and points around as if she’s sensing something.)

Rei: "The dog? The dog is coming... Uh you can have it I guess?"

Wonhee (gasps): "NO! Don't—That's Blueberry! I won him!"

Rei: "Oh uhm, sorry... This is Blueberry. Blueberries are coming? I don't know what she's talking about, but this girl is crazy, and I want nothing to do with her."

The Jack in the Box

(The creepy clown woman who welcomed them offers Y/N a game.)

Clown Woman: "Take this ball, throw it at these cans, and you'll win a prize."

Y/N: "Can I get the big pony if I win?"

Clown Woman: "Maybe."

(Y/N throws. Wins. She receives a box instead of a pony.)

CONFESSIONAL – Y/N: I was so sure I was getting that big pink pony. I even named her already. And then... she gives me a box? Like, excuse me? What am I supposed to do with a box?

Clown Woman: "Only someone with your unique gift can open the box and let the real carnival come out to play. But be careful! Don't open it just yet."

Group: "We got a gift. She gave us a box. Should we open it?"

(Before a decision is made, Bangchan's mom—the mayor—arrives dramatically.)

Mayor: "Thank you all for coming out to the carnival. It's our lifeblood."

Mina: "The spell won’t last forever... and then he is coming back."

Mayor (disgusted): "I wouldn’t listen to her words. She’s gypsy trash who lives on the outskirts of town."

Group (murmuring): "That was a reach..." / "Did she just say that?"

Mina: "Where did you get that box?"

Y/N: "I won it. It’s mine."

Mayor (snapping): "Mina!"

Mina: "Not today, Janet!"

Giselle (muttering): "Ooo Janet, You better shut your mouth, girl..." (grinning like she knows she just stirred the pot)

Mina: "Do you know what that is?"

Mayor: "A toy."

Mina: "No! That is one of the Carnival Master's wicked artifacts!"

Bangchan: "It's just a prize. Open it."

Group (mixed reactions): "Don’t open it!" / "Open it!"

Y/N: "I’m gonna open it."

(Creepy music. Screams. A jack-in-the-box with a knife in its head springs out.)

Y/N (shaken): "We probably just unleashed something evil."

(Chaos erupts. Clowns pour into the carnival grounds, attacking the group. Screams echo. Everyone splits up in a panic.)

CONFESSIONAL – Bae: One second we’re opening a toy, and the next, it’s literal hell. People screaming, clowns chasing us... I didn’t sign up for this!

The Clown Ambush

Bangchan (yelling): "Get your friends! Follow me!"

(He begins guiding people toward the arcade as clowns close in.)

Y/N (calling out): "Come on! Move! Everyone inside, now!"

(Y/N waits at the back, counting heads, making sure no one is left behind. Then—hands grab her. She screams as she’s yanked away.)

Voices: "Y/N!"  "They got Y/N!"  "NO!"

CONFESSIONAL – Y/N

"Bangchan was getting everyone inside. I was just making sure no one got left behind. That was my biggest mistake."

Yuna & Manon Caught

(Yuna and Manon sprint behind the others—but it’s not enough. A clown barrels around a booth and grabs Yuna. Another lunges from the shadows and tackles Manon.)

Yuna (screaming): "Let go of me!"  Manon: "Y/N! Someone help!"

(The rest of the group makes it into the arcade just before the metal doors slam shut.)

Chaeyeon (panting)

“They got Y/N… and Yuna… and Manon…”

Chaewon (shaken): "Are you serious? Okay—wait. We have to save them!"

Inside the Clown RV

(Dim lights flicker. Metal walls. The three girls are locked inside a musty RV, hands trembling, breath heavy.)

Y/N: "I have numbers. I have numbers."

Yuna: "Where?"

Y/N: "Calendar. It has circled dates. There’s a magazine back here too, with more circles. I think they’re clues."

Manon (reaching): "Wait—there’s something above me. I’ll try to reach it with my foot… ugh—okay, got it!"

Y/N (reading): "Lock One. October, Soda, Smoke."

Yuna: "Soda? There’s cans here. How many?"

Manon: "Six."

Y/N: "Smoke? Candles?"

Manon: "No, cigarettes. Seven."

Y/N: "Okay, so 13 for October, 6 for soda, 7 for smoke. Try that combo!"

(Click!) Manon: "Yes! One down."

Y/N: "There’s another note: 'Milk, Life, Delicates.'"

Yuna: "Milk—there’s three cartons in the fridge."

Manon: "'Life'—oh, the magazine. Page 17."

Yuna (mischievously): "'Delicates'? …Panty check?"

Y/N: "Keep looking for the panties!"

Manon: "How do you know I’m wearing any?"

Yuna (giggling): "Wait, you’re not?"

Manon: "Nope."

Y/N (dryly): "Girl."

Yuna: "Okay I found a drawer—ugh, five pairs. Try five."

(Click!)

Manon: "It worked! We got it open!"

Y/N (panting): "Thank God. Let’s get out of here."

Inside the Arcade

(The arcade is tense and dim. Machines buzz faintly as the group tries to catch their breath. The lights above flicker erratically.)

Bangchan: "I mean… My mom was a fighter. She wouldn't want me to give up now."

Lara: "Okay... give up on what?"

Bangchan: "I don't know. Whatever this is. This thing... it's one of the Carnival Master's artifacts.  I didn’t realize until you opened it, but… he’s been using them to corrupt this town for years.  My mom always pretended it wasn’t happening."

Kyujin: "Do you know how we can save our friends?"

Bangchan: "This is the clowns’ hangout. So I’m hopeful there’s something in this room that can help us defeat them."

(They all look around until someone notices a strange puzzle box.)

Ryujin: (Confessional) "So, basically we all found a box with letters: R, B, G, and Y."

Group (in unison): "Red, Blue, Green, Yellow."

Ningning: "Okay so… we have to get into it?"

Wonhee: "R, G, B, Y… R, G, B, Y..."

Lara: "Wait—why are you saying R, G, B, Y? That’s not even the order on the box."

Haerin: "This isn’t even turned on."

Giselle: "They actually have this color code on here—but how do we power it up?"

Yunjin: (Confessional) "We’re all kinda just looking around, like how do we turn this thing on?"

Ryujin: "There’s a corkboard over there."

(They rush over and see something scrawled in faded chalk.)

Chaeyeon: "It says… 'The scores get erased at the end of the day.'"

Minju: "Why don’t we erase everything and see what’s left?"

(Everyone begins wiping down the chalkboards.)

Kyujin: "Three?" Wonhee: "Three... ten?"

(More erasing. Dust fills the air.)

Ningning: "Erase them all!"

(Each board reveals one small number or letter still left behind.)

Ryujin: "Wait… put them all together!"

Bangchan (stepping closer): "All of them spell: 'Tap six times on glass.'"

Group (counting): "One... two... three... four... five... six."

(The machine dings. Everyone gasps.)

Haerin: "Oh my God." Rei: "I’m shook."

Giselle: (Confessional) "Honestly, what these random people might not know about me is that I love games."

Lara: "I got it."

(Machine dings again.)

Wonhee: "You guys taking turns?"

Ningning:(Confessional) "I don’t play pinball often… but when I do, I try to get a clue."

(As they play, the machine clicks and reacts to each correct move.)

Kyujin: "There we go!"

(A small gear unlocks inside the box with a chime.)

Haerin: (confessional) "Once you hit a letter, a little lock would open. It was perfect."

Rei:(confessional)  "We’re finally down to the last one and it’s literally impossible. No one’s getting it."

Ningning (suddenly): "Ooh—"

(Machine chimes.)

Group (cheering): "Oh, we got it!" / "That was nice!"

(The box pops open. Inside is a rusted gear and a note.)

Wonhee (reading): "There are four missing parts that must be returned to the jack-in-the-box in order for the clowns to—"

Bangchan (firmly): "—hopefully disappear. Or at least weaken."

(They exchange a tense glance.)

Giselle: “So… we have one. Three to go."

(Chaewon and Yujin are still stuck on the slowly descending Ferris wheel cart. Clowns begin surrounding the base. Mina arrives below, surveying the chaos.)

Chaewon (whispering): "Why don't we try to distract the clowns so they can get out of the van?"

Clown (yelling up): "All right, you little shits! Get over here!"

Yujin: "That's... not a bad idea. What do you think?"  (grins) "Pretty impressed?"

(They laugh nervously as the situation grows more dangerous.)

Chaewon: "Throw something to distract them!"

Yujin: "No!"

Chaewon: "Throw your horse!"

Yujin: "Let’s go hurt some people!"

Chaewon: "Fine. You won’t do it? I will. Bye, Blueberry!"

(She throws the plush toy. One of the clowns catches it gleefully.)

Clown (laughing maniacally): "Oh, I got a gift! It's a puppy!"

Chaewon (shouting): "Okay—go let them down now!"

Yujin: "Oh shoot—wait, no. That's us now. That’s our cart."

Chaewon: "That’s us, that’s us!"

(The cart lowers into place. But the moment their feet hit the platform—)

Clown (growling): "I wanna taste you!"

(Yujin gasps and stumbles back. The clown lunges.)

Yujin (panicking): "Oh, damn it!"

Chaewon: "I'm not afraid of conflict—"

(Before the clown reaches them— CRACK! —a sickening metal clang rings out.)

Mina (swinging a crowbar): "Back off, freak!"

(The clown collapses with a grunt. Mina plants her foot on its chest, breathing hard.)

Yujin: "Oh my God."

Chaewon: "Where did you get a crowbar?!"

Mina: "I broke into the maintenance shed. You’re welcome."

Yujin (still shaken): "Okay, okay. We’re not stalling! Let’s go, let’s go!"

(They dart away from the Ferris wheel as more clowns begin to notice the movement.)

Chaewon (panting): "Thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

Mina (glancing over her shoulder): "She was a huge bitch."

Inside the Tent

Chaewon: This newspaper has jester symbols.

Yujin: Four joker hats. What does it mean?

They find a piñata. Smash it open. One wooden piece inside.

They find a mirror frame. Place the piece. Lights flicker.

More hidden pieces. Last one in the toilet.

The final mirror lights up. Hidden note appears:

Clown’s Note:

“When the sun rises, my summoning ritual will be complete. The sacrifices I have made will have been worth it. The corrupted artifacts have given me the power I needed to conform the people of this town… to vessels worthy of being consumed by the cursed God.”

Back Inside the Arcade

(The group regathers around the box after solving the earlier puzzle. Tension hangs in the air, but there's also a growing sense of purpose.)

Chaeyeon (thinking aloud): "The artifacts... what if the artifact was the jack-in-the-box?"

Bangchan (nodding): "Okay, so if we can collect all the artifacts..."

Yunjin: "Maybe we can stop this from happening?"

Lara (reading from a torn page): "It basically says: You need to find these artifacts or you're all gonna die by sunrise."

Wonhee (sighs): "Oh. Cool. No pressure."

Giselle: "Oh, hmm... we're dealing with curses this time. I see."

(Suddenly, a shrill voice cuts through the silence from outside the arcade doors.)

Clown (mocking and taunting): "Little scared babies... let us in!"

Clown (howling): "CLOWN FIGHT!" (cackles)

Hyein (pointing at the jack-in-the-box diagram): "So the things we have to replace are the spring..."

Kyujin: "Yes."

Minju: "This turny-thing..."

Ryujin: "Uh-huh. The crank."

Yena: "These little keys..."

Ningning: "And I think... also the guy who lives inside. The jack."

Bangchan: "We have to replace the evil parts inside of it with new ones. That’s the only way to destroy the clowns."

Chaeyeon: "You guys wanna take these out and go look for them, or...?"

Lara: "I think we need to leave this arcade. That’s a good start."

Merry-Go-Round Madness

(Somewhere between the tents and the arcade ruins, Y/N, Yuna, and Manon are sprinting through the dark—panicked, bloodied, breathless.)

Yuna (whispers): "Guys… we need to make an escape."

Manon: "We have to get out—"

Y/N (panting): "We can’t fight them..."

Yuna: "Why not? Maybe we can. I’ve never hit someone with a bat—but I’ve always wanted to."

(A door nearby creaks open. The clown shriek echoes again.)

Y/N: "Go! AH! Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

(Suddenly, the rest of the group is visible in the distance—running too.)

Chaeyeon (shouting): "Is that Y/N?!"

Hyein: "That’s Y/N and Manon—and Yuna too!"

Minju: "Are you serious?!"

Lara: "Okay, wait—wait! We have to save them!"

Narration – Yena: We decide it’s time to get out of this arcade. So we have to make a run for it.

Bae (screaming): "Just run! Just run!"

(They burst through the arcade doors—but immediately clowns swarm them from every direction.)

Narration – Ryujin: As soon as we get out the doors, the clowns just overtake us—except for Bangchan, who inconspicuously, yet somehow obviously, disappears.

Clown (mocking): "Come join the party!" (cackles) "You're good. Your butt is clean!"

Group (shouting): "NO! GO, GO!"  (Bodies slam. Screams. Someone drops hard. Chaos.)

Wonhee (sobbing): "What about Chaewon?! No! She was right here!"

Chaeyeon (breathless): "Chaewon! What happened?!"

(Sinister circus music builds. Evil cackling grows louder.)

Clown (growling): "Mmm... I can smell your fear."

Y/N (barely audible): "Hey... hi..."

CONFESSIONAL – Y/N (voiceover): I'm racking my brain to figure out, like, how can we not be killed by these clowns right now? And I’ve got nothing.

Kyujin (shaking): "We’re gonna get killed."

Clown (snarling): "We want our box back, you filthy cretin."

Chaeyeon: "We don’t have it!"

Giselle: "You stole it from us!"

Clown: "Who has the box?"

Ryujin (quietly): "...Bangchan. Bangchan has it."

(The group is dragged across the field to a rusted, creaking merry-go-round. Each of them is tied, one-by-one, to the poles. It spins slowly, lights blinking above them. Around them, the clowns dance, cheer, and heckle.)

Clown Leader (with glee): "We’re gonna roll our Dice of Death... and whoever’s number comes up—I gut them. Right here. In front of your friends."

(He twirls the die between gloved fingers.)

Clown Leader: "Unless... unless... Luke rolls a twelve." (cackles) "Then maybe… just maybe… I let one of you go."

Group (whispered prayers): "Please roll a twelve. Please. Please."

(A squeaky clown hand tosses the dice. The buzzer blares.)

PANICKED SCREAMING

(The carousel spins faster. The lights flash wildly. The clown music distorts, and the scene warps as the screen cuts to black—)