Going Bananas

INT. SYDNEES HOUSE - DAY

A row of family portraits hang neatly above a pristine and
sleek black cabinet. SYDNEE, a woman in her late
twenties, can be seen in the pictures smiling and
surrounded by her family.
Clothes hang neatly in a wardrobe, arranged by colour.
White sheets cover a bed with no creases to be seen.
The bathroom is spotless, with every toiletry
in a designated spot.
The whole house is compulsively ordered and neat, with
each room well furnished and organised perfectly.
A workout video can be heard from a television in
another room. The sound of a fitness instructor chanting
over 80s pop music becomes louder.
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR
A one, two, three, four. A one,
two three four. One more set
ladies. A one two three four.
INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
SYDNEE stands in front of the television
vigorously following the workout DVD on screen. She wears
matching sweatpants and a jumper while a white sweatband
keeps her curly hair away from her face.
As the workout video comes to an end SYDNEE grabs the
remote from a glass coffee table and turns off the
television and DVD player. She places the remote
back, making sure it is straight and parallel.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
SYDNEE walks to the fridge in the kitchen - a "TO DO" list
hangs neatly on the top centre of the door. SYDNEE grabs a
whiteboard marker from where it hangs next to the list and
neatly crosses out the activity labelled "Fitness
Workout".
She looks closely at her next activity; there are number
on the list, the majority cleaning chores and cooking
food. There are also strange activities on the list
including create origami and knit scarves. SYDNEE scrolls
down the list and stops at one of the points; it says
"Cook Banana Muffins" with a star drawn next to it.
SYDNEE stares at the words for a few seconds then quickly
turns to the oven, clapping her hands and smiling in
excitement.

2.

SYDNEE grabs a white tea towel and sprays the kitchen

bench with disinfectant, making sure every single
surface is cleaned and wiped.
She walks towards the kitchen cabinet and grabs a
recipe card labelled "BANANA MUFFINS", placing it on the
kitchen bench. She hurries around the kitchen grabbing
different ingredients including flour, baking soda and
eggs. Kitchen tools such as trays, a mixer and spatulas
are also placed on the bench. Each ingredient and tool is
placed neatly on the worktop.
SYDNEE takes a close look at the recipe card. Her fingers
circle around the word "bananas". She starts to look for
them in the kitchen, slowly becoming frustrated when she
cannot find them.
Strangely, she slams the kitchen bench in frustration and
attempts to calm herself down by taking big breaths.
She slowly turns away from the bench and stares outside to
her backyard, looking worried and clutching her arms
nervously. The sound of birds and chiming bells can be
heard. SYDNEE turns away from the window and takes a deep
breath.
INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
SYDNEE takes out her laptop from the coffee table drawer
and begins to search for delivery services for groceries.
The shops are either out of stock or cannot deliver on the
same day.
Instead she grabs the phone and calls numerous stores but
is also unsuccessful.
SYDNEE places the phone down and again looks out the
window. She focuses on the colours of the sky and trees
which create a contrasting look against her monochrome
pristine home. She takes a deep breath and stiffly walks
up the stairs.
INT. BEDROOM - DAY
Clothes are being thrown out from SYDNEEs wardrobe
onto the bed. She tries on different outfits in front of
the mirror, continually being disappointed at each.
SYDNEE sits at a vanity table, stares at the mirror and
tugs at her eyebrows and cheeks. She opens her drawer and
takes out several cosmetics items, lining them up on her
table.
She carefully applies makeup. Eventually she stares at the
mirror and smiles joyfully, finally satisfied.

3.

She opens her closet once again and grabs a wallet and
handbag, counting how much money is inside and placing it
in the bag.
The bedroom is clearly in a mess compared to its perfect
condition beforehand; SYDNEEs clothing is strewn all over
her bed, clothing hangers empty in her closet. The desk is
covered in makeup products and used wipes.
SYDNEE does not notice the state of her room, solely
focusing on her next move. She confidently walks out of
her bedroom with a smile, clutching her handbag.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
SYDNEE slowly walks down the stairs and stops right in
front of the door. Her smile disappears. She stares at the
doorknob and closes her eyes. She seems fearful, tightly
grabbing the straps of her handbag.
SYDNEE opens her eyes, staring at the doorknob, and nods
her head. She slowly stretches her arm out, placing her
hand on the doorknob cautiously. The sounds of birds and
children playing outside can be heard.
SYDNEE closes her eyes again, lets out a deep breath and
slowly turns the doorknob. The door slowly opens, SYDNEEs
eyes still determinedly closed. The door swings open.
SYDNEE slowly opens her eyes. She freezes, eyes widening,
looking horrified and panicked.
The outside world looks peaceful and calm. SYDNEEs
neighbours have a conversation through the window next
door but to SYDNEE it sounds like theyre having a heated
argument. On the other side of her house, a neighbour mows
the lawn but the sound is unbearably loud and grating to
SYDNEE. She becomes increasingly alarmed. Sounds such as
the lawnmower, yelling and cars grow overpowering in
SYDNEEs mind and are thought of as dangerous.
SYDNEE, still in the same position, starts breathing in
and out heavily. It is clearly seen through her
body language that she is having a panic attack.
Tears start to run down SYDNEEs face. She quickly turns
around and slams the door behind her. Frantically she
locks the door, dropping her handbag in her haste.
She attempts to hold herself up and hurriedly walks to the
kitchen cabinet. Tears are streaming down her face, the
makeup starting to smudge.

4.

With all her willpower SYDNEE opens her kitchen cabinet;

there are rows of medication bottles and packages, every
piece neatly placed side by side with labels facing
outwards. She is looking for a particular bottle, dropping
some bottles as she tries to find it.
SYDNEE finally grabs a bottle and sinks to the bottom of
the kitchen floor. Her hands shaking, she attempts to grab
a yellow pill from the bottle, dropping a few. She finally
gets ahold of one and swallows it immediately. She begins
to calm down but is still fragile and scared. Her panic
turns into a burst of tears. Dropping to the ground she
places herself in a cradle position.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
LATER
The room is strangely dark compared to the beginning of
the day. The blinds have been drawn over all the windows,
blocking the sunlight from coming through and creating a
prison-like feel.
SYDNEE is laying down on the floor, distraught, holding a
few dirty tissues. Her hair is messy and her makeup is
smudged on her face.
SYDNEE picks herself up, leaving the dirty tissues on the
floor. All the ingredients and tools are still placed
neatly on the kitchen bench from earlier in the day.
Beside the floor of the kitchen cabinet are dropped pills
and bottles.
SYDNEE takes a step forward and begins place each item
back it in its rightful place, taking deep breaths.
When shes done she slowly walks back to the front door
and picks up her handbag and wallet. She places the wallet
in the bag and slowly walks upstairs. She stops halfway,
her head hesitantly turning back down towards the door.
She snaps herself back to reality and turns away,
defeatedly walking upstairs one step at a time.
INT. BEDROOM - DAY
The bedroom is still in disarray, with clothes thrown on
the floor and bed and desk cluttered with makeup.
SYDNEE stands at the front of her bedroom door staring
at the mess. She clutches her handbag and lets out a deep
breath.

5.
She takes a step into the bedroom, hopping between pieces
of clothing. She takes some coat hangers the closet and
places them onto the unrecognisable bed. She hangs each
item of clothing back onto a coat hanger and places each
one back into the wardrobe, in exactly the same
colour-coordinated order as before.
SYDNEE scrapes the dried up makeup off the table into the
bin. Lids are closed, items put back in their packages as
each makeup product is neatly placed back into the drawer.
The table is once again pristine and clean.
INT. BATHROOM - DAY
SYDNEE places her hands under a running tap, splashing her
face and exhaling a sigh of relief. Slowly she is
recovering from her traumatic experience, washing away all
signs of makeup.
SYDNEE exits the bathroom, back to wearing a grey matching
outfit. Her hair is neatly tied in a pony tail.
CUT TO:
INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
SYDNEE sits at the centre of her couch staring at the
television. A commercial about bananas and pet food
being half price pops up.
SYDNEE continues to stare at the screen with a slight
frown on her face until she hears a scraping sound on the
door. In an instant, her face freezes and panic and fear
wash over her.
Slowly, SYDNEE walks over the door. Her breath
becomes irregular as she steps closer and closer. She
leans over to the eyepiece to see whether anyone is on the
other side, but there is no sign of a person.
SYDNEEs staring is interrupted as she hears a faint sound
from the outside of the lounge room. Startled, she walks
over to the window and, to her surprise, spots a cute
little puppy outside.
SYDNEEs face changes from fear to relief. She smiles at
the dog and waves at it. The puppy stares back at SYDNEE.
The puppy turns around towards the front gate of the
house and begins to walk away. SYDNEE stares at the
front gate and begins to panic, remembering the sound of
yelling, lawnmowers and bins falling.
SYDNEE stares at the dog and starts to fear what may
happen to it. In a desperate plea she places her hand to
the glass window.

6.

SYDNEE determinedly pushes herself away from the glass

window and hurriedly runs up the stairs.
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
SYDNEE comes back down the stairs dressed comically in
multiple layers of clothing, the last of which is a bright
yellow raincoat and large gumboots.
SYDNEE walks to the kitchen and looks quickly through the
drawers, attaching whisks and spatulas to a belt that she
wears like a sash over one shoulder. She puts on some
rubber gloves and grabs a colander to use as a
helmet. These protective mechanisms become her confidence
boost.
She confidently walks to the door, stopping in front of
it. SYDNEE indecisively takes a step forward. Towards the
left of the door is an umbrella stand. She quickly grabs
the closest umbrella and opens it, holding it tightly like
a sword.
SYDNEE slowly twists the doorknob, pushing open the door.
Her eyes are wide open in fear but she continues to push.
When the door is fully opened, SYDNEE still stands within
the confines of her home, hold on the umbrella tight.
After a beat, she pops open the umbrella and uses it like
a shield. She begins to slowly breathe in and out but
has still not made a single move.
She stares out into the front yard and focuses on the
puppy. It is peacefully walking around the front yard, but
SYDNEE believes it is in danger.
The sounds of sirens and yelling starts to increase.
SYDNEEs mouth starts to tremble, her eyes watering.
A teenager begins to walk past SYDNEEs house, minding his
own business. He looks like a normal boy but SYDNEE views
him as a dangerous hoodlum and is afraid for the
dogs safety.
The teen spots the dog and kneels in front of the fence,
petting it gently.
SYDNEEs eye begins twitching. She fears that he may take
the puppy away.
SYDNEE holds her umbrella tightly and makes a battle
stance. She takes a deep breath, screams and charges
towards the boy.

7.

The teen stares at the SYDNEE and quickly jumps away from
the puppy, startled. SYDNEE quickly grabs the dog with one
arm and protectively cradles it, her other hand still
clutching onto the umbrella.
The boy, still in shock, stares at SYDNEE and her layers
of clothes and weapons belt of assorted kitchen items.
SYDNEE, still cradling the dog, realises that she is
outside of the house. She stares back at the teen, then
looks around her, freezing. Her eyes begin to water and
a joyful smile can be seen on her face.
FADE OUT
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
FADE IN
SUPER: TWO WEEKS LATER
In a well-used and cozy kitchen, a woman is grabbing a
tray out of the oven with some oven mitts. She turns
around and we see that it is SYDNEE, with a different
hairstyle and calm expression.
In contrast to before, the kitchen is not spotlessly
clean; used kitchen tools, ingredients and a tea towel lay
on the counters.
SYDNEE places the tray on the kitchen bench, smiling. It
is a tray of banana muffins.
FADE OUT