INT. ASTOR FOUNDATION, LOBBY, 1F

Gavri walks in on white tile, and looks around. There's a reception desk, potted plants in every corner (ferns and the like), bright lights above, and polished rock of each wall. While he's dazed, Mele comes through the front doors and passes him right by, straight to the elevator. The view leaves Gavri to follow her, as the elevator DINGS! She steps on, presses a button inside, and the doors close.

Inside the elevator, she checks her hair in a compact mirror from her purse. She's wearing her school uniform again, freshly washed and dried, but this time with stockings and mary-janes. DING! She steps off on the ninth floor.

INT. HEINZ'S OFFICE, 9F

Mele walks into Heinz's office. It's mostly empty, with a strong, red-carpet floor and wood-panel walls. A big, wide window makes up most of the outside wall, and Heinz sits in his red leather chair, looking out at the sky. He turns his chair to face Mele, and his oak desk, where sits little but an inkwell, some pens in a cup, and his name on a plaque. He's dressed in a full suit, no tie. His hair sticks out on all sides, like he's been electrified, but his demeanor is strangely composed.

Heinz
Please, sit down.

She takes a seat on one of the three smaller chairs in front of the desk, with their own brown leather seat cushions and shoulder-rests. Heinz sits down too, and sets his elbows on his arm-rests, hands tented. One leg over the other.

Heinz
Which job are you applying for?

Mele
Uhh... scientist. Position. A scientist.

Heinz
Ah, a Laboratory Assistant! Perfect, we've been waiting for you.

Mele
(Swallowing a lump in her throat.) You have?

Heinz
Oh, yes. You're highly qualified, I've seen your resume. Top of your classes, and you took the highest level in all three subjects: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Not to mention you've been abroad.

Mele
Yes, I've been to Canada and Germany, each for a year. On your scholarship, actually.

Heinz
Very impressive! And you understand this is a paid internship? For one year, then we may hire you full-time, based on your performance.

Mele
Yes, I'm prepared for that.

Heinz
Great, welcome to the team!

He offers a hand-shake, and she stands up to take it.

Mele
Thank you, sir! I won't disappoint!

Heinz
Go see my man Lawrence, on the eighth floor. He'll have all your paperwork, and your uniform. How do you feel about lab coats?

Mele
Better than a bath robe.

Heinz
Haha! Well said. I think you'll fit in here just fine.

Mele smiles, and leaves. Heinz stands up slowly, and draws the blinds on his window shut.

Out in the hall, Mele passes by her old friend, Loki Larsen. He looks dishevelled, in an old hoodie, t-shirt and jeans, with ripped sneakers. He nods to her, and they stop to meet.

Mele
Loki, why don't you ever dress for the weather?

Loki
They keep it so cold in here, man. I'm freezing.

Mele
So go outside!

Loki
You know me, I'm married to my work. I'm on my way to meet the boss-man now, he's got some 'special assignment' for me.

Mele holds his head, and he bends down a little. She kisses him on the forehead.

Mele
Get some sun, and some sleep. Take a nap on the beach.

Loki
(Looking nervous.) There's so many people, Mel.

Mele
Not at the Soaking Duck, the twins will look after you.

Loki
(Shrugging.) If you say so, 'mom'.

Loki cracks a smile at his own joke.

Mele
(Smiling.) I'm gonna go see your DAD about some paperwork.

Loki
(Taking a step back.) Watch out, he's in a bad mood!

Mele
Oh, he's always somber.

Loki walks into Heinz's office, waving without looking back.

INT. LOBBY, 1F
Meanwhile...

Gavri sits on a black leather chair, by the reception desk. He looks over at the receptionist – a non-descript white lady with a big, permanent-looking smile. She looks identical to the flight attendant from earlier, but with different hair and make-up. She looks back at Gavri, and her smile persists, like her head is on a swivel. Gavri smiles politely, and looks away, blinking.

Gavri
(Whispering to himself.) Okay then.

Finally, the elevator DINGS! And a young man, barely older than Shiloh, steps out. About the same height as Gavri, much darker skin, with bright eyes and a great smile.

Young Man
Hi, I'm Kaj Khalid, what's your name?

Gavri
Gavrial Anand-

Kaj
(Squints.) Are you Indian?

Gavri
Romani. My ancestors came from Pakistan before it was Pakistan.

Kaj
(Excited.) My mom's from Dubai!

Gavri
And your dad?

Kaj
(Dead-pan.) Minnesota.

He gives Gavri a hug-bump and a fist-pat on the back.

Kaj
You speak Hindi?

Gavri
(Shaking his head.) No, my parents weren't around to teach me. My grandparent didn't bother, said I wasn't smart enough and I should just learn English so I could get a job easier.

Kaj flicks his wrist and looks at the clouds.

Kaj
(Casually miserable.) It's cool, me neither. My parents just, uh... didn't talk to me much. They weren't home a lot, at all. They told me not to address them unless spoken to, which was never. I pretty much raised myself. Which is why I still eat peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, for like, every meal. Sometimes I make ones with curry spice and macaroni, instead. Like, for dinner.

Gavri nods, a little overwhelmed by all that.

Gavri
(In awe of his destitution.) God damn.

Kaj
(Didn't hear him.) What was that?

Gavri
(Letting it go to be nice.) Nothing. So what do you do here?

Kaj
(Proud of himself.) You're looking at the Director of Lucky Pictures Studios. You're that reporter, right?

Gavri
Yeah.

Kaj
Lemme show you around!

Kaj takes Gavri by the shoulder, and walks him to the mail room. Inside, an inbox full of letters stands against the wall. There's a huge bin, unsorted, full of packages.

Kaj
On the first floor is reception, the mail room, and the janitor's closet.

Gavri
Is the mail guy not here yet?

Kaj
(Pondering.) I dunno... haven't gotten any letters in a few months. Kinda weird, now that you mention it.

Kaj shrugs, and takes Gavri back to the lobby. He does a little spin on his heels, and calls the elevator. DING! They step on. The view remains in the lobby for a moment, and pans over to the receptionist. She stands perfectly still, smiling at no one.

INT. WORK STATION, 2F

On the second floor is a grid of cubicles, all empty except for one.

Kaj

That's Jerry, from Accounting. He's also Lawrence's father-in-law. Lawrence is the big-shot lawyer here. Jerry is...

Jerry Green can be seen in the distance, drinking coffee and spilling it on his lap.

Jerry
(Far-off.) Owch!

Jerry dabs his pants with a napkin, and grabs a donut, eating it almost whole.

Gavri
Where's everyone else?

Kaj
They keep staff light here.

Gavri
Then why is the building so big-

INT. CAFETERIA, 3F

Kaj shows Gavri the café. It's a full floor of nothing but tables, a kitchen, and a coffee bar.

Kaj
This is the cafeteria, Lidia works in the kitchen. She's Jerry's wife.

Kaj waves to Lidia.

Kaj
(Calling out.) Hello, beautiful!

Lidia blows him a kiss.

Gavri
Who works at the coffee bar?

Pan over to the coffee bar, which is empty.

Kaj
Right now... no one. We have to make our own coffee, so I usually get Lidia to do it for me.

Lidia takes a butcher's knife, and chops a big slab of red meat. Gavri covers his mouth.

INT. RECREATION ROOM, 7F

An indoor gym, complete with stationary bikes, weights, a small running track, and plenty of space between.

Kaj
This is where I get ARMY strong, haha.

Gavri looks at Kaj's arms, which are tiny. Kaj catches him looking, and gets embarrassed.

Kaj
(Bashful.) I'm a new recruit. At the gym.

Gavri
(Nodding.) Right. You'll get there.

Kaj
(Nodding, too.) I'll get there.

INT. LEGAL DEPARTMENT, 8F

A floor-wide office, with a few private offices at the back, with solid walls and glass doors. All empty, except for the largest private office.

Kaj
This is Legal, Lawrence works here. He's always grumpy cause nobody ever helps him with anything, and he's got like... hours of paperwork, every single day.

Through the glass, Lawrence can be seen hanging his head, and yelling at his desk's surface, only faintly heard through the glass. He's a portly man, with a receding hairline and deep forehead wrinkles visible at a distance. He looks up, to see Kaj and Gavri, his face red and clammy. Kaj waves, and Lawrence shakes his head, and lets it hang again.

INT. SPECIAL OFFICES, 4F
Kaj and Gavri step out on the fourth floor. There's a perimeter of private offices along the outside wall, all with solid barriers and glass doors. In the middle, the elevator shaft, a water-cooler, and some fold-out tables. The water cooler is empty.

Kaj
This is where I work, in one of these Special Offices. We're the bosses who work upstairs from the drones down in the work-stations.

Gavri
(Shaking his head.) Lemme guess, you're the only one here?

Kaj
YET.

Gavri
What about the fifth, sixth, and ninth floors, and the roof?

Kaj
I honestly don't know what's on the fifth floor. Sixth is the lab, ninth is the Head Office, and the Helipad is on the roof. We don't have clearance for the Lab, and... I don't wanna bug Mr. Astor right now.

Gavri
That, and I don't own a helicopter.

Kaj
Haha! Me neither. I want to, though. Really bad.

Silence.

Kaj
You'll see the Head Office eventually. It's also where he sleeps in this fully decked-out suite, it's pretty awesome. I bring him food from the cafeteria sometimes.

Kaj walks Gavri to an office, looks inside, and realizes it's the wrong. He walks to another identical one on the left, checks it, and walks to the one on the right. He opens the door, and inside is a single folding-chair on a throw-rug.

Gavri
Wow.

Kaj
One day, I'll have a desk, too.

Kaj takes a seat, and Gavri leans on the wall.

Gavri
So how'd you become a director?

Kaj
My dad, Pernicholas Trift, met my mom, Shivaati Khalid, in New Boardock. She's an Applied Chemist and Physicist, Perry was a math teacher. They had a one-night stand... he doesn't know I exist.

A slight pause, as Kaj lets some breath go, and stares forward. Gavri shifts on the wall.

Gavri
I'm really sorry.

Kaj
(Saddened.) It's okay.

Gavri
Have you ever tried to reach out?

Kaj
(Emotionally anxious.) I called him a couple times, but he thought I was a telemarketer. Called me uh... something not very nice. Saw him in public once. He used to be fat, my mom said, now he's really skinny, actually. But his head is still, like, ENORMOUS.

Kaj laughs, and Gavri lets himself laugh a bit too.

Gavri
So your mom raised you?

Kaj
(Relaxing.) Yeah, I grew up in Manhattan, my mom did Mathematics for Heinz and his buds. She was always checking their homework, to make sure nobody blew up. Came home late, every night. Said she was "saving lives". Her boyfriend was this... trucker, who always reeked of beer. Made me call him 'dad', but he was always out sleeping with women other than my mom. I didn't see him as being a very good one.

Gavri
(Saddened.) Your life story gets worse every time I hear it.

Kaj
(Shrugging.) It is what it is. Or, was what it was.

Gavri
(Trying to cheer him up.) What did you do in school?

Kaj
(Noticing the effort.) Uh... I tried to go for bio-chem in college, dropped out, fell into theatre, then stand-up. Worked in bars. One night, Heinz shows up, he laughs at my jokes, we get talking. He bought this film company, bunch of cameras, just needs a guy to tell them what to shoot. I'm full of ideas, so I tell him: "That's me, I'm the guy you're looking for." And here I am.

Gavri
(Smiling a little.) That's pretty cool. So what's your vision for this film?

Kaj
Whatever the boss-man wants, I get it for 'im. I'm like the best trained monkey you'll ever have, doing back-flips and tossing MYSELF peanuts. I was always told that my greatest strength was in compliance, and it's what got me here, so that's what I'm doing.

Gavri
(Crossing his arms, casually.) He wants to know what his employees think of him, for the movie.

Kaj
I could never afford to travel here without his help, let alone have MY name on a major motion picture. For people like me, that just doesn't happen – not outside of Bollywood. And I wasn't raised in India, so, that could never happen for me either.

Gavri gives him a pat on the back.

Gavri
(Reassuring.) People like us.

Kaj
(Nodding slowly.) Yeah. People like us.