2:30

FADE IN

Act 1

INT. DINING ROOM - 08:O0

Sunlight streams onto the table. PETER sits with Kaji, the family pet,sharing the same sandwich.

PETER (V.O.): Today, my wife and I are hosing a dinner reception to celebrate my grandchild's 100 days.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As we'll be decorating the venue ourselves, we need to arrive by 4:30pm.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Before that, we must fetch my 96-year-old Mum from the elderly home. The travel time from the elderly home to the venue is about one hour, and it takes us about one hour to get to the elderly home.

Calculating.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That means we've to leave home at 2:30pm.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To keep my daily routines, I need to complete them before 2:30pm.

 Act 2

INT. LIVING ROOM - 08:30

Peter taps the Duolingo App on his phone. We hear a robotic voice speaking in French, Peter repeats it in French. After 10 minutes, he switches languages-French to Spanish, then Italain, German, Portuguese, Japanese, and finally Korean.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Okay, I've maintained my streaks in seven languages.

He checks the MyObservatory App.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The thunder warning is still in force.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me attempt to draft my docudrama first.

Considering.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Perhaps, I'd write a screenplay titled "Before 2:30pm" as it's urgent, time-driven, mysterious...

Having done a rough draft on his laptop, he checks the weather news again.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, the thunder warning has been cancelled, let me go swimming right away.

EXT. SILVERSTRAND BAY - 12:15

Peter floats on his back in the calm bay waters, enjoying the sunshine filters through the clouds.

PETER (V.O.): I understand what I see and feel arrive from the Sun eight minutes ago.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're countless other suns, but they're too far away to reach me quickly-yet they've been shining for billions of years.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How wonderful it is for humans to be born on Earth, to witness the beauty of the universe, even though life is relatively short?

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A brother's family meant to come, but his mother-in-law, a few years senior to my Mum, passed away a fortnight ago.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A sister's family also wanted to come, but my brother-in-law's sister passed away days ago.

INT. LIVING ROOM - 14:00

A wet-haired Peter stares at his laptop.

PETER (V.O.): There is no way I can complete my daily docudrama before 2:30pm....I just hope that I can complete it by 2:30am later tonight.

MONTAGE OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

A. Elderly home, 15:30, Peter, his WIFE and their MAID help Peter's MUM to settle in a 8-seater Previa.

B. Panda Hotel, 16:45. While Peter helps his Mum to tea, his wife and their maid begin to decorate the venue.

C. Panda Hotel, 19:15. Peter's grandchild's 100 days dinner reception begins. We can see and hear the full energy of children GUESTS.

END MONTAGE

EXT. ROADS TO ELDERLY HOME - 23:00

Peter drives, his wife sits beside him. Peter's mum sits in the middle row, looking tired.

PETER (V.O.): We're the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I chose the venue as I meant to faciliate my mother-in-law. Still, she can't make it due to leg pain.

Pausing.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): None of us are the final chapter. We're all interim custodians of a story much larger than ourselves. Our job is to pass it on.

Act 3

INT. BEDROOM -00:30

Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a gear-and-mechanics clock, the kind of place one'd imagine wiinding up to something happening at 2:30.

PETER (V.O.): Before 2:30pm, I strive to complete my daily routines. After 2:30pm, I fetch the one who should remember when I was newly born.

Thinking.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The baby's 100 days are my Mum's 36,500 days. Both are celebrations. One of arrival. One of endurance.

Reflecting.

PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My Mum taught me to walk. Today, I teach my grandchild to be welcomed. The circle isn't broken-it's just tilting towards the new.

The END

FADE OUT