The Way It Is
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 06:00
Opening his eyes, PETER checks time.
PETER (V.O.): Come-on, I don't have to go to court today.
Staying in bed for awhile, Peter checks Notes in his smartphone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, I forgot to renew the licences of two cars!
EXT. PARK - 10:00
Peter is jogging along a path.
PETER (V.O.): After renewing the licences, I'll go over to the Hong Kong island side to drive away another car stowed there.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I've to update some particulars with the security office there.
Act 2
EXT. STREETS - 11:00
Peter stops to check his ankle.
PETER (V.O.): Have I twisted my ankle a little? Probably yes.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Resting is the key. I've got to change my plan today.
INT. STUDY - 12:00
Having done some push-ups, Peter resumes reading a book entitled Legal Thought and Philosophy.
PETER (V.O.): It's intellectually satisfying to read what legal scholarship is about from the continental author's perspective.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): It's good that I've the leisure. I don't have any work commitment for the rest of the week.
INT. RESTAURANT - 14:00
Peter is enjoying Char Kway Teow.
PETER (V.O.): Delicious! I haven't had it for months because of its high saturated fat content. But, my holiday mood is on!
INT. STUDY - 15:00
Peter checks Yahoo!Finance on his smartphone screen.
PETER (V.O.): The Hong Kong stock market is falling again. Should I cheer myself up to buy low?
Via his smartphone, Peter pulls money to enhance his buying power and then does his order.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If my order isn't executed, it'd mean that the market isn't that bad and my entrepreneur fund wouldn't shrink too much.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a little risk I should take. I wish to work less now as I'm not young anymore.
Phone rings. Peter answers the call.
PETER (To phone): To appear in court day after tomorrow? Okay.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): The cab-rank rule applies. My work mode is now on!
Having taken a look of thick books at his knee, Peter checks some incoming emails.
PETER (V.O.): One asks my view on something significant. Let me first respond to that first.
Peter thinks and types intermittently.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to the other...if I'm delisted as a panelist, I can work less...
Then we hear Ding! - A message notification. Peter checks the message.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, my order has been fully executed! The stock market is really bad.
Peter turns on a radio, breaking finance news. We hear:...It's tempting to buy while the price is low. But the question one should ask is whether price will ever rise again...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Very true.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):The shares I invested in my late friend's company worth nothing.
Remembering.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 23:00
Background music.
PETER (V.O.): I plan to do the things I haven't done today tomorrow. That's "Plan-Do".
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But if I still feel ankle pain, I'll stay home and read instead. That's "Check-Act".
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While I don't know when the market will change upwards, I've already changed my financial outlook.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Things do end up different from plans; but that's the way it is.
Peter goes to bed.
THE END.
FADE OUT
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