EXT. SIDEWALK - CONTINUOUS
Jack follows, bewildered.
JACK
You... left half your clothes.
HONK! Jack starts. Marla's led him into the street with
traffic barreling down.
Marla walks on, oblivious as CARS screech to a halt, HORNS
BLARING. Jack dashes, following...
INT. THRIFT STORE - CONTINUOUS
Marla drops the pile of clothes on a counter. An old CLERK
sifts through the clothes, begins writing on a pad.
JACK
You're selling those?
Marla steps down hard on Jack's foot. He winces in pain.
MARLA
(for the Clerk to hear)
Yes, I'm selling some chothes.
The Clerk starts to ring up the assessed amounts.
MARLA
So, we each have three -- that's six.
What about the seventh day? I want
ascending bowel cancer.
JACK (V.O.)
The girl had done her homework.
JACK
I want ascending bowel cancer.
The Clerk gives a strange look as he hands money to Marla.
MARLA
That's your favorite, too? Tried to
slip it by me, eh?
JACK
We'll split it. You get it the first
and third Sunday of the month.
MARLA
Deal.
They shake. Jack tries to withdraw his hand; Marla holds it.
MARLA
Looks like this is goodbye.
JACK
Let's not make a big thing out of it.
She walks to the door, pocketing money, not looking back.
MARLA
How's this for not making a big thing?
Jack watches her go. A moment, then he follows after...
EXT. SIDEWALK - CONTINUOUS
Jack hesitates, unsure, then run/walks to catch up to her...
JACK
Um... Marla, should we maybe exchange
numbers?
MARLA
Should we?
JACK
In case we want to switch nights.
MARLA
I suppose.
Jack takes out a business card, writes his number on the
back, hands it to her. She takes the pen, grabs his hand
and writes her number on his palm. She walks into the
street, causing more SCREECHING and HONKING. She turns,
holds up the card.
MARLA
It doesn't have your name. Who are
you? Cornelius? Mr. Taylor? Dr.
Zaius? Any of the stupid names you
give each night?
Jack starts to answer, but the traffic noise is too loud.
Marla just shakes her head, turns, and keeps moving. A BUS
moves into view, obscuring her.
JACK (V.O.)
This is how I met Marla Singer.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - DAY
The plane touches down; the cabin BUMPS. Jack's eyes open.
JACK (V.O.)
You wake up at O'Hare.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - DAY
Jack snaps awake again, looking around, disoriented.
JACK (V.O.)
You wake up at SeaTac.
EXT. HIGHWAY - DUSK
The rear of a CRASHED CAR sticks up by the side of the road.
Jack stands, marking on a clipboard. The SUN SETS behind.
INT. AIRPORT - NIGHT
Jack stands at a gate counter. An ATTENDANT smiles at him.
ATTENDANT
Check-in for that flight doesn't
begin for another two hours, Sir.
Jack looks with blearing eyes at his watch, steps away and
looks at an overhanging CLOCK.
JACK (V.O.)
Pacific, Mountain, Central. Lose an
hour, gain an hour. This is your
life, and it's ending one minute at
a time.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - DAY
Jack's eyes snap open as the plane LANDS.
JACK (V.O.)
You wake up at Air Harbor
International.
INT. AIRPORT WALKWAY
Jack stands on a conveyor belt, briefcase at his feet. He
watches PEOPLE MOVING PAST on the opposite conveyor.
JACK (V.O.)
If you wake up at a different time
and in a different place, could you
wake up as a different person?
Jack misses seeing TYLER on the opposite conveyor belt.
They pass each other.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
Jack sits next to a BUSINESSMAN. As they have idle
CONVERSATION, we MOVE IN ON Jack's tray. An ATTENDANT'S
HANDS set coffee down with a small container of cream.
JACK (V.O.)
Everywhere I travel -- tiny life.
Single-serving sugar, single-serving
cream, single pat of butter.
CUT TO:
HANDS place a dinner tray down.
JACK (V.O.)
Microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - BATHROOM - NIGHT
Jack brushes his teeth in the MIRROR.
JACK (V.O.)
Shampoo/conditioner combo. Single-
serving mouthwash, tiny bar of soap.
Jack picks up an individual, wrapped Q-TIP, looks at it. He
moves out of the bathroom into...
MAIN ROOM
Jack sits on the bed. He turns on the TV. It's tuned to
the "Sheraton Channel," shows WAITERS serving people in a
large BANQUET ROOM. Jack stops brushing his teeth, feels
something on the bed, lifts it -- a small DINNER MINT.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT
Jack sits next to a frumpy WOMAN. They chat. Jack turns to
look at his food, takes a bite. He turns back and it's...
--a BALD MAN next to him, talking. Jack takes another bite,
turns back and it's...
--a BUSINESSMAN next to him. Jack takes another bite, turns
back, and it's...
--a BUSINESS WOMAN next to him.
JACK (V.O.)
The people I meet on each flight --
they're single-serving friends.
Between take-off and landing, we have
our time together, but that's all we
get.
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - LANDING
Jack's eyes snap open.
JACK (V.O.)
You wake up at Logan.
INT. WAREHOUSE - CONTINUOUS
A giant corrugated METAL DOOR opens.
JACK (V.O.)
On a long enough time line, the
survival rate for everyone drops to
zero.
Two TECHNICIANS lead Jack to the BURNT-OUT SHELL of a
WRECKED AUTOMOBILE. Jack sets down his briefcase, opens it
and starts to make notes on a CLIPBOARDED FORM.
JACK (V.O.)
I'm a recall coordinator. My job is
to apply the formula. It's a story
problem.
TECHNICIAN #1
Here's where the infant went through
the windshield. Three points.
JACK (V.O.)
A new car built by my company leaves
somewhere traveling at 60 miles per
hour. The rear differential locks up.
TECHNICIAN #2
The teenager's braces around the
backseat ashtray would make a good
"anti-smoking" ad.
JACK (V.O.)
The car crashes and burns with
everyone trapped inside. Now: do we
initiate a recall?
TECHNICIAN #1
The father must've been huge. See
how the fat burnt into the driver's
seat with his polyester shirt? Very
"modern art."
JACK (V.O.)
Take the number of vehicles in the
field, (A), and multiply it by the
probable rate of failure, (B), then
multiply the result by the average
out-of-court settlement, (C). A
times B times C equals X...
CUT TO:
INT. AIRPLANE CABIN - MOVING DOWN RUNWAY
Jack is speaking to the BUSINESSWOMAN next to him.
JACK
If X is less than the cost of a
recall, we don't do one.
BUSISNESS WOMAN
Are there a lot of these kinds of
accidents?
JACK
Oh, you wouldn't believe.
BUSINESS WOMAN
... Which... car company do you work
for?
JACK
A major one.
Turgid silence. Jack turns to the window. He sees a
PELICAN get SUCKED into the TURBINE.
JACK (V.O.)
Every time the plane banked too
sharply on take-off or landing, I
prayed for a crash, or a mid-air
collision -- anything.
Jack's face remains bland during the following: the plane
BUCKLES -- the cabin wobbles. People panic. Masks drop.
JACK (V.O.)
No more haircuts. Nothing matters,
not even bad breath.