Episode 1- Scene 1 Joseph

Fade In

EXT – A STREET - EVENING

It is starting to get dark. The street lamps are lighting up the street. JOSEPH, sixteen, is standing at a kebab van. He is wearing casual clothes. He has a wristband on his right wrist. He has a hoody over the top of his t-shirt. He also has the watch on his right wrist. A COOK, mid-forties, is standing inside the kebab van. He hands a kebab to JOSEPH.

JOSEPH
Thanks.

JOSEPH walks away. He sits on the top of a wall. He starts to eat his kebab. He looks for SETH, but can’t see him. He sighs. He then looks at the time on his watch. He continues to eat the kebab. He finishes it a moment later. He gets to his feet, and he puts the rubbish in the bin.
He starts to walk down the street. He zips up his hoody. A van is heading down the street. It pulls up alongside JOSEPH. The side door opens. A MAN climbs out of the van. He grabs hold of JOSEPH, and he tries to get him inside the van. JOSEPH struggles.

JOSEPH (struggling)
Get off me!

The MAN throws JOSEPH into the back of the van. The MAN also gets inside the van. He closes the side door. The van races off down the street.

Cut to
INT - AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - MORNING

JOSEPH is sitting on a seat. His hands and feet have been tied to the seat. His face is beaten. His hearing and vision is blurred. EDWIN, now late thirties, and LINK, mid-thirties, are standing in front of him. EDWIN has a scar on the side of his face. EDWIN punches JOSEPH in the face. JOSEPH spits out some blood.

JOSEPH (narration)
I suppose you’re wondering how I got here. It all started a few weeks ago. I spent most of my free time singing.

Cut to
INT - A ROOM - MORNING

JOSEPH is standing inside a room, singing. He is wearing casual clothes.

JOSEPH (narration)
A career in singing is what I really wanted in life. I spent most of my free time at home writing music. Rock, pop, rap, you name it. I tried it all. Obviously, some went better than others.

Cut to
INT – JOSEPH’S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON

JOSEPH is sitting at his desk, writing a song. He says the lyrics out loud as he writes them onto the paper.

JOSEPH (narration)
I even got the chance to perform at different gigs, including my shed, the retirement home in my village and my school’s Christmas Ball. They were okay. Some people turned up, which is all that matters to me.

Cut to
INT – THE SCHOOL DINNER HALL – AFTERNOON

JOSEPH is standing on the stage, singing a song. He has a guitar in his hands. There is also a microphone in front of him. He is wearing his school uniform, and his rucksack is on the floor next to him.
A row of seats have been put out in the hall. GIRL 1, thirteen, is the only other person inside the room. JOSEPH finishes performing the song. GIRL 1 gets to her feet, and she begins to clap at him.

JOSEPH (narration)
I never wanted to be mega-famous. I only wanted people to hear my music and say “Hey, I can connect with that.” Or maybe “Yeah. This guy’s got skills.”

The school bell goes. JOSEPH begins to put his guitar away. He puts his rucksack on his back, and he begins to walk off the stage. GIRL 1 hurries over to him.

GIRL 1
That was really good, Joseph.

JOSEPH
I’m glad you enjoyed them.

GIRL 1
The lyrics meant so much to me. And you looked so beautiful whilst playing them.

GIRL 1 dazes into a trance.

JOSEPH (continued)
Right...Well, I better get going.

JOSEPH walks out of the room. GIRL 1 continues to stand there.

JOSEPH (narration)
After all these small gigs, I decided I needed to get my name out there. I didn’t fancy becoming a busker for the rest of my life. No way. I needed a break. If only the right opportunity came along...

Cut to
INT - THE YEAR LOCKERS - AFTERNOON

JOSEPH stops outside his locker. He has his rucksack on his back. His sleeves are rolled up. There is a poster on the wall behind him. It is about the singing competition. There are some other kids getting some stuff out of their lockers. JOSEPH opens his locker. He takes out a few exercise books. KID 1, sixteen, walks past JOSEPH, shoving him.
JOSEPH drops all of the books on the floor. The KID walks away, laughing. JOSEPH sighs. He picks up the books from off the floor. He then sees the poster on the wall. He walks over to it. He stands there, looking at it. KID 2 and KID 3, both sixteen, walk over to him. They both see that JOSEPH is staring at the poster.

KID 2
What’re you looking at there, geek?

JOSEPH turns to face them.

JOSEPH (casually)
Nothing.

KID 2
You weren’t considering doing that, were you?

JOSEPH
I...

KID 2 interrupts him.

KID 2
I think you should. It’ll be a laugh. For us. Have fun singing. Freak.

KID 2 begins to walk away. KID 3 pushes past JOSEPH as he walks away. JOSEPH waits until they disappear out of sight, then he looks at the poster again.

JOSEPH (narration)
I was determined to prove them wrong, so I collected an application form at the end of the day. I took it home to fill out.

Cut to
EXT – THE FRONT OF SCHOOL – AFTERNOON

JOSEPH walks out of the school grounds. He is listening to some music on his iPod. He has his hands inside his trouser pockets. He begins to walk down the street. There are some other kids walking out of the school grounds.

Cut to
INT – EDWIN’S CAR – AFTERNOON

The car is parked across the road from JOSEPH. EDWIN is sitting in the driver’s seat, and LINK is sitting in the front passenger’s seat. They are both watching JOSEPH as he walks down the street.

EDWIN
That’s him.

LINK
What are we gonna do?

EDWIN
Nothing. It’s too crowded here. We’ll wait until there’s less people around.

EDWIN switches the engine on and he begins to drive away.

Cut to
INT – OWEN’S OFFICE – AFTERNOON

OWEN, late forties, is standing at his desk. PADDY, early thirties, is standing in front of him. There is a flat screen TV on the left side of the wall. A photo of JOSEPH is being projected onto it. PADDY is staring at it.

OWEN
It is possible Edwin knows where to find him.

PADDY faces OWEN.

PADDY
How long has he got?

OWEN
Not long. We have to move in quickly if we’re to get to him first. Paddy, I need you to keep an eye on Joseph. No matter what happens, no one can be allowed to get to him. Do you understand?

PADDY
Crystal clear.

Cut to
INT – JOSEPH’S KITCHEN – AFTERNOON

CRYSTAL, early forties, is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking from a cup of tea. She hears the noise of the front door opening and closing as JOSEPH walks inside the house.

JOSEPH (calling)
Mum.

CRYSTAL
I’m in here!

JOSEPH walks inside the room. He still has his rucksack on his back, which he places on the floor. He also has his iPod in his hands. CRYSTAL faces him.

CRYSTAL
Did you have a good day at school?

JOSEPH
I’ve got something to show you.

JOSEPH places his iPod down on the table. He then takes out the application form from his left trouser pocket. He shows it to CRYSTAL, who looks at it.

CRYSTAL
You should definitely do this.

JOSEPH (surprised)
Really?

CRYSTAL
Yeah. It’s what you want to do.

JOSEPH
Okay. I’ll fill it out.

CRYSTAL hands the application form back to JOSEPH. He also picks up
his iPod, then he walks out of the room.

Cut to
INT – JOSEPH’S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON

JOSEPH walks inside the room. He places his iPod and the application form down on the desk. He walks over to his wardrobe. He takes out a set of casual clothes, and he lays them out on his bed. He takes his shirt off.
He gets changed into the clothes. He also put a band on his right wrist. He then sits down at the desk. He begins to listen to some music on the iPod. He starts to fill out the application form afterwards.

Cut to
INT – EDWIN’S OFFICE – EVENING

EDWIN is sitting down at his desk. LINK is standing next to him. ELIJAH, early forties, is sitting in front of EDWIN. EDWIN hands a photo of JOSEPH to ELIJAH. He picks it up, and he looks at it. He faces EDWIN.

ELIJAH (surprised)
A kid?

EDWIN
He has something that I want. Now, can you take care of it?

ELIJAH
For a price.