The First to Arrive

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

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5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 10:00

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7. Sunlight streams through the window, illuminating a minimalist space. PETER sits on a sofa, holding a smartphone reading

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9. PETER (V.O.): The discussion surrounding privacy protection in the context of AI is indeed compelling, especially when the dean of a business school refers to the US jurisprudetial concept of "false light"..

10. 
    

11. Reading.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): False light refers to situations where an individual's image or data is presented in a misreading manner, causing emotional harm.

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15. Reading.

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17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He cited the information from the HK Law Reform Commission Report on Data Protection 1995. It was primarily drafted by my former colleague Mark whose office was adjacent to mine.

18. 
    

19. Recalling.

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21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Whenever he had a new idea, I was the first colleague he turned to for consultation.

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23. Act 2

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25. INT. CHARIOT CLUB - 12:30

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27. A WAITRESS leads Peter to a round table set for 11. He is the first to arrive.

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29. PETER: Thank you...just water for me please.

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31. Peter sits facing the entrance. Then, SURESH, LISA, ARTHER, and GILBERT arrive. When CHAPMAN appears, he spots Peter's white hair.

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33. CHAPMAN: We're getting old...

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35. PETER (V.O.): I embrace who I'm and have no desire to hide or dye my white hair.

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37. Then, GLORIA, SHARON, JUNIUS arrive. The table is almost full.

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39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One couple remains. I haven't seen them since our time at HKU in the early 1980s.

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41. Peter's gaze is fixed on the entrance. And then GRACE and LEO step in.

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43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Grace's posture remains upright, energetic and girlish.

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45. Grace spots the table, her eyes sweeping over the faces. They land on Peter. A flash of recognition, a warm smile.

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47. FLASHBACK

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49. INT. TUTORIAL ROOM, HKU - DAY (1982)

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51. Grace takes a seat to Peter (28)'s right. As she sits, she hands her coat to Peter casually, as if he was her brother, or a longtime friend. He takes it, laying it carefully over the back of her chair.

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53. PETER (V.O.): A token of unthinking trust. I'm a mature student.

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55. RETURN TO PRESENT

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57. Seated, Graces shares her memory of Peter with Leo.

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59. GRACE: Peter spoke fluently and eloquently, responding to the tutor's queries.

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61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's a great compliment.

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63. GRACE (Cont'd): And in the library, he was very serious in reading the SCMP...

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65. Peter looks genuinely surprised.

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67. PETER: My English was a struggle. My mentor, Agnes, tried to help me. She told me to write news summary and submit it to her every day. So I did.

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69. Peter and Grace share a brief look - a silent acknowledgment of a memory, long buried, now suddenly and vividly alive.

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71. PETER (V.O.): I never know who's been watching me from across the room of their memory, until they tell me - decades later.

72. 
    

73. Pausing.

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75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm someone else's monument, frozen in their memory, while I feel myself quietly weathering.

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77. Peter follows Gilbert's conversation with Arther.

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79. GILBERT:...K Y Kwok...

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81. ARTHER: He's a tall guy, but I can't remember his face.

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83. PETER: Yes, he's tall...

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85. PETER (V.O.): And I can still vividly recall his face from our days as classmates in the early 1980s.

86. But, that's all.

87. 
    

88. GILBERT:...Louis...

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90. WAITERS serve bowls of sweet red bean soup. Later, Peter is the last to leave.

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92. INT. MTR CABIN - 17:30

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94. Crowded. Peter has a seat. He swipes and taps his smartphone.

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96. PETER (V.O.): I'm curious to know Louis' age at the time of his passing.

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98. Peter reads an obituary:...born 1955...he was 69...

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100. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Age doesn't arrive all at once. It comes in moments - a forgotten name and a birth year that shocks.

101. 
     

102. Act 3

103. 
     

104. INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:45

106. Peter uploads an image depicting a neatly set table in a restaurant from Peter's perspective to a draft on his laptop.

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108. PETER (V.O.): The first to arrive chooses the view. The last to leave learns what the view truly means.

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110. Thinking.

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112. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The first to arrive, last to leave: the bookends of a life measured in attentiveness.

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114. Reflecting.

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116. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I spend a lifetime arriving early. Only now do I understand: time itself is the invitation.

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118. The END

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120. FADE OUT