Jose Magana - Arizona State University



LIFE AT THE PLANTATION

Jose Magana

8:40

LIFE AT THE PLANTATION

DAY 225 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

Day 225 fades out.

JERRY (O.S.)

Do you know my name?

JOSE (O.S.)

No, I don’t think so.

JERRY (O.S.)

Jerry Fitzgerald. Executive officer of

the CIA. Nice to meet you.

FADE IN:

INT. MILL COFFEE PLANTATION - NIGHT

JOSE has an ambushed look on his face.

JOSE (V.O.)

Oh my god... he’s out of his mind.

BACK TO SCENE.

The coffee house has a South American theme to it, with bamboo stilted chairs and plants strategically placed throughout the shop.

The shop walls have several layers of paint on them, the doors are obviously worn out as are the bakery cases, bathrooms and floors.

There are various CUSTOMERS, sitting throughout, everything from young punks to refined older gentlemen quietly reading.

The employees all wear the same uniform, a black polo shirt with the Coffee Plantation logo and black work pants.

Jose is holding a broom a few feet from JERRY, who we can now see is a short, overweight, transient with dirty clothes. His beard and mustache are not groomed and they cover about half of his tanned face.

Jose himself is of average height, with light skin, and glasses. His hair is gelled and slightly spiked in the front and he sports a little bit of stubble. He has an average figure, one that borders, however, on being athletic.

JOSE

Well... Jerry, my name’s Jose. Nice

to meet you.

Jose resumes sweeping.

JERRY

Did you know that there’s these court

orders going around that tell people

where they can go. What they don’t

know is that they’re false court orders...

Jose’s glasses begin to slip off and he adjusts him as he says the following.

JOSE

Uh huh.

JOSE (V.O.)

This is what I get for trying to reach

out and be nice to the bum instead of

ignoring him like everybody else.

Jose begins moving away to another part of the café.

Jerry follows.

JERRY

But I can tell which ones are fake.

JOSE (V.O.)

I guess I just want to save the world...

JERRY

So if you come across any of those court

orders, you bring ‘em to me, and I’ll

tell you if they’re real or not.

JOSE (V.O.)

...one bum at a time.

Jose grabs a long handed dustpan and sweeps the trash he’s been collecting into it.

JOSE

Okay. Well, I gotta go Jerry--

JOSE (V.O.)

Did I just call him Jerry? That’s

probably not even his real name.

JOSE

--It was nice meeting you though.

JERRY

All right, take care!

Jose walks away with broom and dustpan in hand.

Jerry ambles back to a nearby booth where his small sprite is waiting for him.

Jose walks through a door that reads:

COFFEE PLANTATION

EMPLOYEES ONLY

He grabs his backpack, puts his cell phone in his pocket and proceeds to clock out.

As he is leaves he waves goodbye to ANTHONY and HANNAH, fellow employees behind the counter.

He exits.

EXT. MILL AVENUE – EVENING

Mill Avenue is a street filled with restaurants, a movie theatre, various shops, and coffee houses. It is where the students from the nearby college hang out; it is apparent from the foot traffic generated by both students and adults, however, that this is a very popular locale.

Jose unlocks his bike.

The bike itself is obviously well used. The seat is ripped, the gear-shift has fallen off, the tires are under-inflated and there are scratches all over the bike.

JOSE (V.O.)

I really need a new bike...

(Jose mounts it)

But at best, that’d be fifty dollars

down the drain... that’s a full day of

work.

(Jose begins to ride)

I can’t afford it. It’ll just have

to do.

Jose rides in front of a street musician playing reggae tunes on a steel drum.

C.U. on the steel drum.

DAY 1 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

DAY 1 fades out.

INT. MUSIC ROOM – DAY – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

C.U. on steel drum.

We hear a CARIBBEAN TUNE being played.

BACK TO SCENE.

The music room is filled with steel drums of various shapes and colors. There are musically themed inspirational posters adorning the walls and there is a worn wall-length chalkboard on one of the walls.

Jose is playing on one of the drums. He has a shorter hair style than before. He is also clean shaven and his build is now more close to average than athletic.

There are various other STUDENTS playing other drums throughout the room.

Jose’s hands aptly use the drum sticks to hit the right notes in rhythm with the rest of the band.

The song ends.

INT. MILL COFFEE PLANTATION – DAY - SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

DAY 200 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

DAY 200 fades out.

Jose is working behind the counter making drinks at the espresso machine. He is pulling shots, steaming milk and mixing drinks efficiently and expediently.

He grabs a large clear mug and pours espresso, milk and foam in a way so that they form three perfectly separate layers.

Hannah approaches.

Hannah is the assistant manager in her late teens. She has long hair tied back in a ponytail and wears black eyeliner.

HANNAH

Pretty.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Hannah might seem like the girl next

door, but between her smoking and

affinity for death metal, she was

everything but...

JOSE

Hey Hannah! How’s it going?

Hannah flashes him a thumbs up and an ear to ear smile.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

...but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a

pleasure to work with.

HANNAH

I’m off. I got practice with my band

tonight and I have to be here at 5AM

tomorrow morning. David just got here,

he’s in the back clocking in.

JOSE

All right, I’ll see you around!

Hannah waves and exits.

Jose makes a drink at the espresso bar and places it on the counter.

JOSE

(yells)

Medium café mocha!

Jose’s glasses begin to fall off, he adjusts them.

DAVID, a short Italian with an average build, approaches.

DAVID

Do you have to yell every time?

JOSE

Yelling is half the fun.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

David was awesome. He was one of my

supervisors and whenever they’d hire

a new girl he’d make it a point to let

everyone know he planned to come on to

them. He also smoked... not just

cigarettes if you know what I mean.

DAVID

You do know that no matter how loud

you yell, people still don’t come get

their drinks.

JOSE

Yeah, I know. Why do you think the

café mocha is still on the counter?

David looks at the café mocha still on the counter.

DAVID

Because people are ‘tards. Doesn’t

matter, I won’t have to deal with

them pretty soon. Put in my two

weeks today.

JOSE

Are you serious? Why?

CUSTOMER #1, a older gentleman, approaches the counter.

David goes to take his order. He takes his money, gives him his change and returns. As he talks to Jose he grabs a cup and fills it with iced tea.

DAVID

Are you serious? Staying here until

2AM on the weekends, getting paid

what we get paid. You know how hard

it is to have a social life when you’re

busy grinding coffee and helping assholes?

JOSE

Sadly, yes.

David places the drink on the counter.

DAVID

Then you know what I mean.

JOSE

Yeah...

CUSTOMER #2, a short middle-aged woman, approaches. David goes to register to take her order.

Jose begins to organize the bakery case, rearranging muffins, cleaning the case windows and re-labeling the various baked goods.

David approaches.

DAVID

Hey, pass me a croissant for here.

Jose grabs a plate and uses tongs to place a croissant on it. He hands it to David who hands it to Customer #2.

JOSE (V.O.)

Those things are so fattening. How

could anyone eat them?

David finishes with Customer #2 and nears Jose.

Jose continues organizing the bake case.

JOSE

So what do you think of the new

manager?

DAVID

Anthony? He seems really down to

earth.

David begins fiddling with another set of tongs.

JOSE

Better than Tracy?

DAVID

Uh, yeah. Tracy was a fucking

idiot.

Jose just smirks and shakes his head.

Jose is still gripping the METALLIC TONGS.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL DINING ROOM – DAY – SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER

Jose is using METALLIC TONGS to pick up a piece of coffee cake as he goes through the lunch line.

DAY 25 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

DAY 25 fades out.

Jose goes through the line, grabs the rest of his food and finds a place to sit.

The dining room is carpeted, with about twelve round tables. It is where the entire student body, about 70 students, dines. There are Indian and Southwestern themed decorations around the room.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

This was my school. This is the private

college preparatory that I went to for

four years.

ISSAEL, a short, dark skinned Mexican with a toothy smile, styled hair and a heavy Mexican accent interrupts.

ISSAEL

Sientate aqui.

Jose obliges and sits next to Issael.

Jose begins to place a napkin in his lap.

JOSE

So I’m thinking of getting a job.

ISSAEL

Que?

JOSE

Issael, English. You need to

practice it.

ISSAEL

(slightly annoyed)

Fine.

Jose looks over to Issael’s plate and sees that there is an unnatural amount of ketchup off to one side.

JOSE

Wow, can you have anymore ketchup?

ISSAEL

(shrugs)

I like ketchup.

Issael places a ketchup covered fry into his mouth.

ISSAEL

So, you’re getting a job as what,

a male prostitute?

Jose smirks.

JOSE

You know that café your mom works

at? You think she could get me a

job there?

ISSAEL

Probably, why would you want to

work there? If it’s for the girls,

you shouldn’t. My mom tells me all

the girls that work there are gay.

JOSE

It’s not for a girl... it’s because

of a girl.

ISSAEL

Oh... have you talked to her?

JOSE

No, and I don’t want to... Can we

not talk about this?

ISSAEL

Fine.

Points to something on Jose’s tray.

ISSAEL

Hey, are you going to eat that?

JOSE

What?

INT. MILL COFFEE PLANTATION – DAY – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

DAY 175 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

DAY 175 fades out.

TRACY, an overweight, white, middle-aged man with a small head and slightly flamboyant demeanor is talking to Jose.

Pointing to a croissant.

TRACY

I said, are you going to eat that?

JOSE

What?

TRACY

The croissant. You’ve been staring

at it forever.

JOSE

I can’t. It’s too fattening.

TRACY

Suit yourself.

CUSTOMER #3, a middle-aged man with gray hair, approaches the counter.

Tracy moves to help him.

The camera FOLLOWS Tracy.

TRACY

Hi there, how’s it going?

JOSE (V.O.)

Everything by the book. There’s

the greeting.

CUSTOMER #3

Pretty well.

TRACY

What can we get for you today?

CUSTOMER #3

I’ll take a large coffee.

Tracy lifts the covering from some coffee cake next to the register.

TRACY

Would you like to try some of our

coffee cake with that?

JOSE (V.O.)

There’s the up-selling.

CUSTOMER #3

No thanks.

Tracy takes the customer’s money and gives back change.

TRACY

I’ll go get your coffee right now.

Tracy grabs the coffee and gives it to the customer.

TRACY

Thank you sir! Come back soon!

JOSE (V.O.)

...and the mandatory asking them

to come back again.

Jose is wiping down a counter.

JOSE (V.O.)

I’m surprised they don’t have us

pull down their zipper down and--

DAVID

--hey man.

David stands behind Jose.

JOSE

Oh, hey Dave.

Jose throws the towel he was using into a bucket and adjusts his glasses which have begun to slip off his face.

David goes to the tip jar, empties out the loose change and begins to count it.

JOSE

You closing tonight?

DAVID

(disheartened)

Yeah.

Jose goes into a corner, grabs a drink from the shelf and sips it.

JOSE (V.O.)

How does he close? I couldn’t bear

staying here that late.

David finishes counting the change, approaches Jose and grabs his own drink from the shelf.

Jose’s glasses begin to fall off but he grabs and re-adjusts them before they do.

DAVID

What’s wrong with your glasses?

Jose takes his glasses off and looks at them.

JOSE

I got out of bed this morning and

I couldn’t find my glasses. Turns

out they had fallen between the

mattress and the wall. They got

pretty bent up. They haven’t been

able to stay on since.

DAVID

Oh... that sucks.

David takes a sip from his drink.

DAVID

So you hear what happened

today?

Jose, finishing his drink and making sucking sounds with his straw.

JOSE

What?

Jose throws his drink away in a nearby trash can.

C.U. on a nearby cup with the Coffee Plantation logo on it.

DAVID (O.S.)

The owners came in and were yelling

at Tracy, they said that-

His voice fades out.

INT. BILTMORE COFFEE PLANTATION – DAY - SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER – CLOSE ON – COFFEE PLANTATION CUP

DAY 50 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

DAY 50 fades out.

BACK TO SCENE.

This coffee shop is the same franchise as the Mill Coffee Plantation but at a different location.

It is bigger, newer and busier than the Mill Coffee Plantation but it possesses the same South American theme.

PAN from the cup to a nearby corner where TOM is interviewing someone.

Tom is a skinny, tall and balding middle-aged man with a slight Minnesotan accent. He is the manager of the Biltmore Coffee Plantation.

FOCUS on Tom.

He shuffles through some papers.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Tom was the Fonz. No, he wasn’t

like the Fonz, he WAS the Fonz.

He was the coolest, most laid back

manager I ever worked under...

That’s probably why the owners

later fired him.

TOM

Well, everything looks fine. You’ll

be starting tomorrow. Pay day is the

7th and 22nd of every month.

Tom stands and shakes the hand of the person he’s interviewing.

We PAN to see who he’s talking to and see that it is COLE, a tall, dark, handsome, well built young man with a goatee and charming smirk.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Yeah, that’s not me. That’s Cole.

Cole was one of those guys that

the saying “tall, dark and handsome”

was modeled after... He was also

one of the guys that knew it.

The camera PANS to behind the counter where we see...

Jose, in full Coffee Plantation uniform struggling to learn the ropes and get his bearings. He quizzically searches the register for a button and then wanders off to find something among the cabinets and drawers.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

There’s me.

Jose begins to fill a cup with iced tea.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

I got the job. Keeping it however...

The iced tea slips from Jose’s hand and splashes all over the floor.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

...was a different story.

As Jose looks around for a rag to clean up the mess as reggae music produced by steel drums fades in.

INT. MUSIC ROOM – DAY

The steel drum band is playing the reggae song heard in the previous scene. The camera PANS around the room and sees various students at their respective drums, it RESTS on Jose’s empty drum.

A Beat.

Jose enters, late, in full work uniform, and scrambles to his drum. He picks up his sticks and tries to jump into the song, midway through.

After a few obvious missteps, he synchronizes with the band and finishes out the song.

A few of his fellow band members glance and him.

He shrugs, waving his sticks in the air.

JOSE (O.S.)

Mill Coffee Plantation, this is

Jose, how can I help you?

INT. MILL COFFEE PLANTATION – NIGHT – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Jose is on the phone.

DAY 150 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

Day 150 fades out.

BRANDON (O.S.)

(playful tone)

Didn’t you used to work for me?

JOSE

Brandon! Hey! How have you been?

BRANDON (O.S.)

Been doing good--

Jose switches the phone from one ear to the other.

BRANDON (O.S.)

--the other day.

JOSE

How’s everyone down at the

Biltmore?

BRANDON (O.S.)

They’re all great. I’ve heard

you’ve been seen a couple times down

there.

JOSE

Yeah, some of the Biltmore people have

come in from time to time.

CUSTOMER #4, a woman in her early twenties, approaches the counter.

BRANDON (O.S.)

Hey, is Tracy around?

JOSE

Yeah, hold on a sec.

Tracy is off to one side shuffling papers.

Jose puts his hand over the receiver.

JOSE

Hey Tracy, Brandon’s on the

phone for you.

Jose hands off the phone to Tracy and goes to help the waiting customer.

FOCUS on Jose.

JOSE

Hi, how can I--

INT. BILTMORE COFFEE PLANTATION – MORNING – SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER

DAY 75 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

JOSE

--help you?

Day 75 fades out.

Jose is training at the Biltmore Coffee Plantation, he’s behind the counter taking an order from a customer.

CUSTOMER #5, a shrewd, middle-aged Asian woman with little patience, is at the counter.

CUSTOMER #5

Yes, give me a large iced tea.

Jose looks at the register desperately trying to find the correct button.

JOSE

Okay...

Not being able to find it he calls NICOLE over.

Nicole is a woman is her late twenties, she has an average body, her hair pulled back, and her face always seems to be in a frown.

She is on the register next to Jose.

JOSE

Nicole?

Nicole is helping a customer.

JOSE (V.O.)

Then there was Nicole. Now I’m not

one to use the words “heinous bitch”

lightly...

Putting her pointer finger up.

NICOLE

One second.

Jose looks back to the CUSTOMER #5 and smiles, he only gets a scowl in return.

Nicole finishes helping her customer and approaches Jose.

NICOLE

What?

JOSE

Where’s the iced tea button?

Nicole reaches over and points to a button.

NICOLE

It’s the button that says “Iced Tea.”

Did you already get her drink?

Jose turns to get her drink while Nicole watches. He fills a cup with iced tea and hands it to the customer.

CUSTOMER #5

Some lemon please.

Jose looks around and sees sliced lemons in a small plastic bin above the iced teas. Seeing just the lemons and nothing to grab them with he grabs a slice with his bare hand, putting it in the iced tea.

He gives it to Customer #5.

NICOLE

(half amused)

Usually, you use a fork and not

your hand.

JOSE

Oh, I, uh...

Customer #5 simply gives Jose a dirty look and walks away.

NICOLE

Here.

Nicole gives Jose a ticket.

NICOLE

Make this cappuccino. The customer

wanted it layered.

JOSE

But I don’t-

Nicole walks away to do something else.

JOSE (V.O.)

Layered?

Jose goes over to the espresso machine, pulls a shot and places it in a tin cup. He froths the milk and mixes the milk, foam and espresso into a clear mug.

The layers do not form and all three ingredients mix together to form a brownish mix.

JOSE (V.O.)

The cappuccino was disjointed,

undefined and mixed up... kind

of like my life.

Jose places the drink on the counter.

JOSE

Small cappuccino!

Before the customer can pick it up he returns to the register.

A series of customers approach and order.

CUSTOMER #6

Could—

CUSTOMER #7

--I--

CUSTOMER #8

--get--

CUSTOMER #9

--a--

CUSTOMER #10

--medium--

CUSTOMER #11

--café--

CUSTOMER #12

--latte?

Jose finishes ringing up the last customer and Nicole approaches him.

NICOLE

Hey, that white chocolate mocha

was a medium not a small. You were

supposed to have gotten the soup

for the food order. The coffee you

served the customer was regular and

not a decaf and the mocha was iced

not hot.

JOSE

(pleadingly)

Okay, I’m sorry.

JOSE (V.O.)

Oh god, I hope I don’t get fired.

NICOLE

There’s more.

Jose’s eyes widen.

CUT TO:

INT. BILTMORE COFFEE PLANTATION BACK OFFICE – DAY

Jose comes in and begins looking for something.

He is visibly shaken.

He stops above the desk.

There is scattered paper work on the desk. Tears start falling on the papers.

Jose’s back is to the camera.

Pause.

Jose sniffles.

Wipes away his tears, composes himself and walks out the door. We do not see his face.

JUDITH (O.S.)

Yeah, I’m only going to be working

here until the end of October.

INT. MILL COFFEE PLANTATION – NIGHT – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Day 125 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

JUDITH is a woman in her early twenties with a lisp, average build, and a tattoo on her forearm.

Day 125 fades out.

Judith is making a drink at the espresso bar.

JOSE (O.S.)

Are you serious?

Judith nods yes.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Judith was the person who showed me

around the Mill Avenue Coffee Plantation

after I transferred. It was kind of

hard to take her seriously though, every

time I’d start, I’d notice her lisp.

Jose is making drinks next to Judith.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

I never told her what I thought about

her lisp though, I’m not that much of

an asshole... well, maybe I am a little.

But it’s just in my voiceovers where no

no one else can here me.

Judith finishes with her drink making.

JUDITH

So you pretty much got everything

covered right? You know where we

stock all the extra stuff and know

the measurements that we use for

our drinks?

JOSE

Yeah I got it. Most everything else

is the same though. I’m getting the

hang of it. Don’t worry.

CUSTOMER #13 approaches the counter.

JUDITH

(pointing)

You want to get her?

Jose walks over to help the customer.

JOSE

Hey, how’s it going?

CUSTOMER #13

Hey... didn’t you used to work

at the Biltmore?

With a smile of recognition.

JOSE

Yeah, you went there a couple times

right? You knew Cole right?

CUSTOMER #13

Yeah. Oh yeah, Cole. Don’t get me

started on him.

JOSE

Why not? Hey, whatever happened to him?

He came into work one day and quit.

Just like that.

Slightly hesitant at first.

CUSTOMER #13

Cole started doing drugs again.

He said it was only for fun but...

well you know. It got so bad that he

had to move back home.

Surprised look on Jose’s part.

JOSE

Wow, are you serious?

CUSTOMER #13

Yeah.

JOSE

Whoa.

C.U. on Jose’s FACE.

INT. BILTMORE COFFEE PLANTATION – MORNING – SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER – CLOSE ON – JOSE’S FACE

DAY 100 fades in at the bottom of the screen.

Day 100 fades out.

BACK TO SCENE.

Jose is making drinks at the espresso bar.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

As you can probably tell, this is me

making drinks...

Jose finishes one of the drinks he’s making and places it on the counter.

JOSE

(yells)

Large iced white chocolate!

Jose continues making another drink.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Look closer... this is me... making

drinks... without screwing them up...

Jose places the newly finished drink on the counter.

JOSE

(yelling)

Small iced chai!

CUSTOMER #14, a short middle-aged man, approaches.

CUSTOMER #14

I wanted this hot, not iced.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

...most of the time, anyway.

JOSE

Sorry about that sir, I’ll fix

that right now.

Jose works the espresso bar, steaming milk, mixing two drinks at once and expediently making the order.

He places the re-made drink on the counter.

JOSE

There you go sir, and I made that

into a medium because of the mess-up.

Jose finishes the last drink, calls it out and goes into the back office.

He looks on the schedule whiteboard and sees Cole’s name crossed out.

He looks above it and sees Tom’s name also crossed out.

Jose shakes his head.

BRANDON pops his head through the door, he is man in his late twenties, skinny with a crooked smile.

BRANDON

Jose, they need you out on the line.

JOSE

I’m coming.

Jose follows Brandon out the door and as the door swings shuts we hear Jose.

JOSE

Hey, did you talk to Tracy about

me transferring to the other sto-

Jose’s voice fades out.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

I never thought I’d learn so much by

working at the Coffee Plantation.

MONTAGE - REALIZATIONS

-- David walking away from the Coffee Plantation and throwing his name tag away in the garbage.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

The people working those long hours

and unbearable shifts aren’t superhuman.

Even they have their breaking point.

-- Cole charming girls outside the Biltmore Coffee Plantation, and subsequently partly taking a small clear packet filled with white powder and showing it to the girls.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Those who may seem to have it all...

may indeed have it all.

-- Tracy working behind the line and fading out, Anthony fading in and taking his place.

-- Tom working behind the line and fading out, Brandon taking his place.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

Even the top dogs are somebody’s

chew toy.

-- A NEW EMPLOYEE at the Mill Coffee Plantation placing a slice of lemon into an iced tea with their hand. Jose approaches them and subtly, and discreetly corrects them.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

People’s advice and teachings shouldn’t

be disregarded just because they’re

heinous bitches.

-- The music room, with everyone at their drum playing, except Jose. His drum sticks lay unused and on top of his drum.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

That sometimes... parts of your life

get left behind so as to make room

for other parts to be picked up.

-- The scene in which Jose is sobbing after being berated by Nicole.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

...and that your bleakest moments...

-- Jose and various other EMPLOYEES at the Biltmore Coffee Plantation laughing and talking.

OLDER JOSE (V.O.)

...often yield to your brightest

and most memorable... These are the

lessons I learned, working at the

Coffee Plantation.

FADE OUT.

THE END

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