My Message
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Mar 2, 2021
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. ROADS - LATE AFTERNOON
Crowded. Coming out from a courthouse, PETER checks his mobile.
PETER (V.O.): I've turned off my phone while working in court. Have I missed any significant messages?
Reading as he walks.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Someone asks me what is the most important thing for a teenager. It's an academic project.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That someone was once a teenager too. As she's the only child in a wealthy family, I believe she was provided for with everything.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As for me, surviving as a teenager wasn't academic. It was real.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm quite exhausted now. Let me think how can I get my message across to those who didn't have the experience.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - MORNING
Peter checks his diary.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, I need to issue my decision on a domain name dispute in a day or two.
Turing on his computer, Peter begins to work.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me refine my rough draft.
Peter thinks, researches, types and edits.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Writing an impartial, fair and authentic one requires intellectual and professional skills.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I was told when I was a teenager these're important skill sets for a career, I wouldn't get the message.
INT. COURT LIBRARY - AFTERNOON
Peter finishes reading a thick white book.
PETER (V.O.): Okay, I've updated myself on the procedural matters. I've a hearing coming up.
Peter goes to the shelves, surveying other thick books.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Ha, here's a new edition of trust law in Hong Kong.
Peter skims through the pages of a book.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Banister v Banister?
FLASHBACK
INT. OFFICE - DAY (1977)
Sitting behind a desk, Peter (23) notes a COLLEAGUE nearby is reciting something. We hear:...Banister v Bannister...
PETER: What are you doing?
COLLEAGUE: I'm reciting case names. Why don't you follow my example to study Law?
Peter shakes his head sideways.
PETER (V.O.): If studying Law is to memorise case names, I won't be interested in it.
COLLEAGUE: Your study of Philosophy will lead you nowhere...
PETER (V.O.): I think it's much more intellectually demanding than Law.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Banister v Banister is the first case name that I've ever heard.
Peter reads the text.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's just one of the cases on constructive trust.
Peter continues to read.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, Boardman v Phipps. It's about a trustee's duty to avoid conflict of interest. I studied this case in my second year in Law School.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And that was 1982 - 39 years ago.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was 28 then. Now I'm 66. And I'm still learning the Law.
Act 3
EXT. ROADS - TODAY
Leaving the library, Peter walks towards a MTR station.
PETER (V.O.): I've spent full three hours researching. When I was in my teens, I'd only study right before exams.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I was told when I was a teenager that learning had to be life-long, I wouldn't get the message.
Phone in hand, Peter types: The most important thing for a teenager is experiential learning. When I was in my teens, I worked to earn a living without compromising my conventional learning too much...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I picked up my survival skills in the process. I also learned that if I wanted a better tomorrow, I had to push harder and better still.
Peter sends his reply.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I speak from my heart. If others don't understand my message, it's never meant for them.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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