Matt Nielson
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

Scene 7

INT. PUBLIC HOSPITAL, EMERGENCY WARD, EVENING.

The ward is full of activity, but it is not hectic. There is a steady, professional pace to the doctors and nurses as they go about in an orderly way.

In contrast to this is CARLOS, a fresh-faced young man in clean scrubs, who waits next to a nurse’s desk. He is a bundle of energy, tapping his feet, looking around, and making tutting sounds, clearly impatient. The NURSE next to him ignores him, typing notes steadily into a computer. Eventually, in frustration, he turns to her.

CARLOS: Hey listen, I don’t wanna bug you, but are you sure Doctor Benson is coming, cos I’ve really gotta get -

NURSE: It’s two minutes until her shift starts.

CARLOS: Yeah, but it’s my first day on my placement, and I really wanted to get a head start on — DOCTOR BENSON!

A business-like woman in scrubs with a ponytail tied back turns to see CARLOS as she steps into the room. She sighs and rolls her eyes — she’s seen this naivete before. She storms past him, grabbing a clipboard off the desk next to him. CARLOS follows along after her, talking at her.

CARLOS: Doctor Benson? Carlos Mendoza. Just finished up at John Hopkins. You went there too, right? I found you in an old yearbook. Anyway, sorry, but it’s just so weird, I mean I’ve been hoping, fantasizing, about doing my placement here on the ward with you — well not fantasizing, but like, it’s definitely a dream and, I mean, I was gonna say, I got really high grades in all the digestive pracs we did at Hopkins, I think it’s my favourite system, so I was gonna say I could try and take the lead on anything –

BENSON stops outside a door.

BENSON: Mendoza, what do you know about medicine?

CARLOS: The Hippocratic Oath says, first, to do no –

BENSON: Wrong answer, Mendoza. The correct answer is, you know nothing about medicine.

CARLOS: Uh, Doctor, if you look at my exam results, I actually scored -

BENSON bursts through the door, and CARLOS follows — we see them from a patient’s point of view, as they look down at us from either side of the bed in the treatment room. CARLOS shrieks immediately as he lays eyes on the patient.

BENSON: That is an acutely sprained ankle Mendoza, and you better get used to it, because it’s basketball season, pal.

CUT TO:

The same shot, later on — CARLOS is shrieking in a similar way but it is muffled by his hand in his mouth. BENSON exerts herself pulling something behind us and eventually succeeds in yanking a tooth out, into frame — it is covered in blood.

BENSON: Okay. Well, that’s the top row row done…

CARLOS shrieks anew as we

CUT TO:

The same shot, later on — BENSON is cutting something with a scalpel out of frame — skin, by the sounds of it — slowly, delicately, with great concentration. CARLOS is staring at it, shaking, his teeth chattering in horror.

BENSON: (muttering to patient) Stay with me, stay with me…

CARLOS suddenly squeals and faints off to the side. BENSON turns and stares as we

CUT TO:

The same shot, later on — BENSON and CARLOS are staring at the clipboard, confysed.

BENSON: (to patient) By any chance you have gone to a Mexican restaurant in the last -

From below the frame, projectile vomit hurls out all over CARLOS.

BENSON: Mendonza, stay with me…

CARLOS stares at BENSON, eyes quivering, trying to defy his own nature, but then…

… he turns out of frame, vomiting, as BENSON sighs.

CUT TO:

The same shot — but with CARLOS’s face wrapped up completely in a hair net, face mask and glasses. Both he and BENSON are leaning over the frame, working on the patient with surgical tools. They are being careful but it’s clearly frustrating, precise work.

CARLOS: (mumbles incoherently)

BENSON: You’ve had enough?

CARLOS rips the face mask off — there is a steely determination in his face.

CARLOS: I said — pass me the scalpel, I’m just gonna save us all some time and cut the damn cyst off.

BENSON smiles approvingly.

CUT TO:

CARLOS and BENSON leaning over the frame, staring at the viewer.

BENSON: Ma’am, I’ve really gotta ask you to help us here. I know this is an awkward situation for us, but -

CARLOS: Oh, for the love of god. Listen, woman, I don’t care HOW the ketchup bottle got up your damn pussy, but if you don’t help us out here and push, that’s where it’s gonna stay. Okay?!

BENSON looks to CARLO, surprised and pleased at his demeanour.

END SCENE

    Matt Nielson

    Written by

    Big words guy, I mean, HUGE. Hire me: mattjnielson at gmail dot com