CHAPTER ONE : curiosity leads to trouble .
scene transcript between henri rousseau, jasper atkinson, roman keating, banks delcoy, thalia pham, and the scott family . on june 4th, 2020 .
opening: it’s the last house on persimmon lane . a little one on stilts . the sort of house that looks like maybe it’s seen a hurricane or two in it’s day –– the blue paneling is slowly bleaching white in the sun . there’s quite a few loose planks here and there, as you bramble up the porch, and the dock that juts out awkwardly into the water from the yard is blocked off by a fallen tree . there's a very overgrown quality to the landscaping, if you could call it that . a porcelain bathtub full of spearmint plants lay on it's side in the tall grass . there were several newly broken bird feeders . a neon sign flashes in front of lace curtains in the window . you see only candlelight through the windows . they probably don't have power back yet . PSYCHIC / PALM / TAROT / TEA / BY APPOINTMENT ONLY .
thalia pham: lia isn't too familiar with the scott household, given that she's a woman of science and doesn't believe in any of that crap. that doesn't mean she doesn't have respect for the scotts--whatever they're doing, they're probably taking lots of money from dumb middle aged rich white women who complain about balancing their chakras, the perfect group to scam. people like that are just desperate to find "culture" in a small place like brentwood. if there's a place to do so, though, it certainly looks like this house. she's standing on the porch with the boys, reluctant to take the initiative and knock on the door. "not it!" she exclaims, waiting to see who will draw the short end of the stick.
henri rousseau: most of the year he simply longs to be considered a proper member of the gang. being able to properly take part without feeling like he's missing out. today he's just happy he can play the semi-innocent tourist card... like he hasn't skated past the scott house umpteen-million times over the years. no. he's playing innocent, trying his best not to dig his hands in his pockets ( and curse himself further, if that's a thing) as he rocks on his heels. there are times when he knows to shut his mouth, and this is most definitely one of them... well, that is, until thalia mentions not being it and his jaw drops. "what?! nu-uh. if thalia's not it, i'm not either. i mean..." he purses his lips, "i know i have it, but like... if i'm cursed these could be my final moments! going out after knocking on a door is not really how i pictured it happening." banks delcoy: there's something about the house post - hurricane that makes him . . . uneasy. not in a this place gives me the creeps way, but more in a way that banks can't quite put a name to. beneath the gray sky, it feels too vibrant and too aged all at once. banks is shaking his head already as he swallows back a gulp of water from the two whales cup grasped loosely in his hand. he supposes that he should be the one to take the leap -- he pitched coming here in the first place -- but instead he just leans against the white - washed banister. "i second lia. not it." roman keating: the atmosphere feels akin to what he imagines it would be in one of those movies cecilia used to love so much; the one she swore to him he’d love in return because it was supernatural. it turned out to be a romantic comedy about sister witches but he never complained. he stands behind the rest of them on the scott porch and crosses his arms over his chest with a heavy exhale, hoping the brittle wood didn’t concave from their combined weight. they were sticking their nose in something they had no business knowing ( if it was anything at all ). for all they knew, this could end up being a wild goose chase. roman’s right eyebrow raises and arms lift to protest. “i don’t even want to be here, let alone touch that damn door,” he opposes with a scoff. “japser can do it if he’s so worried about giving henri peace of mind or whatever.”
jasper atkinson: jasper had walked selene home after work whenever they got off at the same time. it was on the way to his apartment anyway, so it hardly mattered to him. while he didn’t believe any of the bullshit that spewed out of her mouth, he knew she did wholeheartedly, and so he respected it. who was he to knock her down? everyone had their thing that got them through life. “you guys are ridiculous. it’s a fuckin’ door.” he goes up to it and rings the doorbell, but there’s no sound inside. so instead, he knocks on the door. scott family . “ do you have an appointment ? ” after a lot of dramatics about who was going to have to answer the door, it is eventually fiona who does it . six years old and forty inches high . she’s wearing her belle from beauty in the beast costume over a pair of polkadot pajama pants . she opens the door just two inches, like she was told to, and asks again, louder : “ DO YOU HAVE AN APPOIIIINTMENNNNNN–– ? ” she was rudely interrupted by her mother, who now stood in the doorway . thirties, bright blue eyes, brighter blue overalls, bandana, juice box . lavender gave her daughter the capri sun and then ushered her back into the house . “ awfully sorry . we don’t have power back yet . ” she wipes sweat from her brow and starts her own capri sun . “ i’m afraid we’re closed . come back again . . . well, leave us a voicemail . we’ll call you back when we have phones again . take care . ” thalia pham: lia patiently waits as they finally pressure jasper into getting things done. she knows it's coming, because it always eventually happens. when the door swings open, though, thalia's met by someone closer in height to her than the boys--an adorable young girl with a loud mouth. when her mother tries to turn them away, thalia rushes to stop it from happening. they'd come this far already, right? "wait! we have kind of an urgent matter on our hands here. please?" henri rousseau: the brief sound of bickering is quickly replaced by the sound of henri's heartbeat in his head at the thought of having to head home with the chain."please." he repeats, almost as soon as it's left lia's mouth, if but a little desperately. "i, uh, i found something. a necklace. in amongst the debris on the beach but it... was like it didn't belong." his brow furrows and he briefly wonders whether or not to take it out of his pocket right there on the porch. "it just... it doesn't feel right."
banks delcoy: when a young girl begins calling out the door, a crooked smile threatens to twist at his lips. it's, admittedly, a little endearing. she fits right in with the neon signs casting technicolor shadows across his friend's faces. another woman swiftly replaces her and he's edges forward a step when lia cuts in. after a beat, banks nods toward henri in assent. "even a picture of the thing feels weird. we thought you all might be able to help." ilene scott: “ yeah, ” lavender looks between the fiery one and the curly ones . “ well . that’s weird . put it back where you found it . ” as she’s closing the door, there’s a voice from the candlelit kitchen . “ lavender, they’re going to think you were raised in a barn with those manners . please, come in . i’m making iced tea . ” lavender sighs, but ultimately waves a hand to welcome them inside . she huffs up the stairs . to the right, there was a small yellow kitchen that was affectionately lit by the natural carolina sun pouring in through the windows and the hundreds and hundreds of candles . ilene, town psychic and blue grass fanatic, waved for everyone to have a seat at the table . well, probably someone’s gonna have to sit on the counter . and maybe someone needs to pull up a stool . “ lets have a look at it, then . ” jasper atkinson: at this point, jasper felt like all he really needed was to be there for henri. he knew that he’d just about short circuit if he had to explain himself at this point. so, he sat next to him, hoping his presence would be enough. “i haven’t seen it yet, but if it’s real, based off of the picture, i’d date it at about 18th century.” his gaze shifted to his cousin. “show her, henri. it’s okay.” henri rousseau: there's always a bit of hesitancy whenever he takes the lead in something. more noticeable in his step as he makes his way across the kitchen - even if there is something oddly soothing about the interior of the house. but it's jasper's presence that finally gets him to stop twiddling his thumbs. just like it could when they were kids. "right, yeah, of course," he murmurs, digging in his pocket for a moment before pulling the chain out and laying it on the table. "it um, it's sorta alright like this. but when i looked at it more closely it... it sounded like it was whispering to me." ilene scott: “ where’d you find it ? ” she narrows her eyes at henri . henri rousseau: "on the beach... just slightly buried in the sand." ilene scott: she looks between the pendant and the group of people surrounding it . “ well . lets see then . ” she reaches behind her and grabs a deck of tarot cards from the kitchen counter . they’re barbie pink . she passes the deck first to the curly boy who found the necklace . “ shuffle, pick one, pass it on . all of you pick one and put it down on the table . ” henri rousseau: normally there would at least be a smile on his face at the colour of the cards. a reminder of the shade his step-sister sometimes insists on painting his nails with. but there’s something about the potential of being cursed that has him on edge, focussing more on the cards as he shuffles them than any offhanded remarks he could otherwise be making. although it takes a great deal of energy not to snort when he finally puts the card that feels right down on the table. the fool. were the cards really pointing out how much how much of a mistake picking up the necklace was too? he doesn’t know how tarot works well enough to say it, but it certainly feels that way. thalia pham: lia watches as henri draws the fool, looking a bit embarrassed by how on the nose it is. she doesn't really get tarot cards and their supposed duality, but it would be rude to refuse. she slides the top card off of the deck and turns it over, placing it neatly in front of her. the sun. she feels warm.
roman keating: an impatient foot taps the ground beneath him. “this is all a load of crap, right?” he inquires of the older woman who has dealt them the deck. when the cards end up in his hands, there’s a force that urges him to pull straight from the bottom. roman flips the card over to observe its depiction; the tower. all he sees is destruction. the structure's been lightning struck and bound to crumble, inhabitants falling from the sky are set to crash. he presses his lips into a thin line. banks delcoy: banks can hear his mother's voice in the back of his mind as he takes the deck from roman -- she had always said his curiosity is what would damn well get him in the end. little corbin banks had never believed her, of course, as he never had any intention of getting caught in the little excursions his intrigue would pull him toward. as a child, it had been harmless things — like sneaking out of his room at night to see what the grown - ups did from his perch at the top of the stairs in their small two - story, tiny hazel eyes peering brightly like a cat's from between the spindles of the banister. this curiosity would morph into less harmless acts as he got older, and no matter how much he thought he got away with, leah banks always knew what went on in her own home. and he can't help but wonder what she'd say now. banks has no idea what any of . . . this means, but there's a tug in his chest that yearns for understanding. that same tug has him pulling from the middle of the deck -- the card he flips onto the table reads wheel of fortune. hm. jasper atkinson: as he watched all of his friends flip over their cards, information flowed through his mind. he'd read about all of this before, and thus, knew what each card that was flipped over meant. memories of sitting at the library, going over books in the metaphysical section, trying to grasp a sense for anything that might save him from his life. but the more he read, the more he realized it was all bullshit escapism. that didn't stop him from retaining the information, however, and it didn't stop the smile from curling up the corner of his lips as he watched henri and lia pull the fool and the sun. it was quickly erased when he noticed the tower and the wheel of fortune pulled immediately after. he knew what the tower meant, and the wheel of fortune, of course, could go either way. but no, he didn't believe in it. he took the deck for himself, split it in two (as he read was customary) and then picked from the top. two cards came out stuck together, and when he was about to place one back, ilene stopped him. told him that both cards were meant for him. he nodded and handed her the deck, then gently and carefully placed his cards down on the table. the chariot and the hierophant. he knew what they meant apart, but not together. fuck, he hated not knowing things. hated having to rely on other people for information. he looked up at ilene, trying to mask whatever anxiety he was feeling. ilene scott: ilene watches carefully . her expression is indiscernible . after a long while . she waited for the boy who chose two cards to finish before she moved . ilene drew two more cards from the deck . the star . the magician . she slid them into the middle of the table, careful not to let them touch the pendant . she says : “ you’ve found it . it’s starting . hooray . you’re not going to be able to use it until you find them . ” she sips her iced tea . she doesn't look at the gemstone on the table .
jasper atkinson: he furrows his brow, a sudden rage filling his chest that he quickly pushes down. "are you just gonna be cryptic like that or are you gonna give us some real information?" thalia pham: thalia reaches over to squeeze jasper on the arm. now is not the time to snap, even if she agrees that this hasn't been ...the most helpful, yet. she gives him a reassuring smile, to calm him down. jasper atkinson: and just like that, the anger in his chest cools to a simmer. as he makes eye contact with thalia, he knows exactly what shes thinking. shes with him, and she would handle this better than he ever could. she was always better at talking to people than he was. he placed his hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze before looking back down at his own cards, then at all of the cards on the table, as if putting together pieces of a puzzle. banks delcoy: his attention skips across the cards and while he couldn't begin to interpret what any of this means, seeing them all together feels -- right, maybe? complete? eventually he looks up to ilene. "what's starting?" something, though, tells him he's asking the wrong question. thalia pham: thalia fixes her gaze on banks' own display of confusion. she draws her arm back, folding it across her chest with the other. "and what do we need to find?" ilene scott: she sort of just listens to their questions . nodding along while ripping open a sweet n low packet and pouring it into her iced tea . finally, she looks at the wheel and then to the sun . “ good . ” lavender, who it has become clear was hiding behind the door way into the room and listening to the conversation, interrupts with a throat clear . “ would you kindly get that thing off the kitchen table ? ” she looks at the pendant . “ we don’t want any part of this dust you’re kicking up . treasure huntin’ is not known for being a profession in which people live particularly long . ” ilene says nothing , stirring her tea . jasper atkinson: treasure hunting. jasper looks up. sudden interest sparking his eye. how much was this necklace worth? could he go to college with the money? would henri share? what if he found his own bit of treasure? if anyone could solve the puzzle, it would be him. but the cards on the table told him this was something they all had to do together. it was a piece of the puzzle. he didn't say a word. part of him not wanting to get his hopes up at the thought of a way out. banks delcoy: it's almost as if the mention of treasure hunting has his heart pausing it's pace in the cage of his ribs. mind briefly flashes to his grandfather. "are you talking about the prospero?" maybe he's pushing his luck, but there's a sense that time to ask questions is running out. "is that what this is from?" closing: " no, " lavender says, crossing her arms, still staring at the pendant . " it's about time you should be getting home, now . have a safe trip home . " she starts to swipe iced tea glasses and empty them in the sink . ilene says : " next time, consider making an appointment . and yes, take that with you . you've met the other two . you just don't know that you've met them . certainly though, you lot are starting to kick up some dirt . it's starting . bye bye, now . " armed with a reusable bag filled with mostly candy but also what could feasibly pass as groceries, selene roller skates home from work . to her understandable surprise, her front porch was rather populated . there was : a bunch of kids she went to high school with, the guy who works at her restaurant, and a tourist . weird . she stood there, and watched, and said nothing . she tilted her head . then she went inside the house and closed the screen door behind her . she looked at her grandmother . and her aunt . she said : “ what the fuck ? ” fiona, who chose now to come out from under the kitchen table, said : “ they didn’t have an appointment . ”
