Short Screen Play: Gen Z
Kimaya Garg
INT. DENTIST’S OFFICE – DAY
Interior of a Dentist’s office. Enter Nurse and Boy. Nurse speaks in a formal British dialect. Boy speaks in a rude, informal dialect.
NURSE: Hello, young man, are you here for your dentist’s appointment?
BOY: Can I say no?
NURSE: Well, that depends, now, doesn’t it, on the answer to my question?
BOY: I suppose so.
NURSE: So, are you here for your dentist’s appointment?
BOY: Where’s the nice nurse?
NURSE: I’m afraid I don’t who you are talking about. What is their name?
BOY: I dunno, it’s som’in like Lori. Anyway, who are you, huh?
NURSE: You mean Lorelai. Why, I should have known. You’re James, aren’t
you?
BOY: How’d y’ know?
NURSE: I am covering for her. She did say you could be quite the handful. Let
me check for you when your appointment is. Full name and date of
birth, please.
BOY: Name’s James Reed.
NURSE: And date of birth?
BOY: I dunno.
NURSE: Your date of birth is the day, month and year you were born. It’s also
the day when you celebrate your birthday each year. It sounds like I’m answering a question on a Year 2 vocabulary test.
BOY: Never heard of a birthday in m’ life.
NURSE: Well, lucky for you, you’re the only James Reed on the system. Your
appointment is in 10 minutes. Why don’t you go and play with the
abacus?
BOY: What now?
NURSE: That toy with the beads, over there. Why don’t you go and play with it?
BOY: Nah
NURSE: Why ever not?
BOY: Cuz it looks boring
NURSE: It’s actually quite fun. Come, I’ll show you.
BOY: This is mega boring.
NURSE: Oh, what nonsense.
BOY: It ain’t gonna be fun if you’re shouting down at me like the Trunchbull
NURSE: Well, at least he’s read a book.
BOY: Nah, I watched the movie.
NURSE: (SARCASTICALLY) Great. Why don’t you go and read one of those
books over there, on that table.
BOY: What table?
NURSE: The one that looks like the giant peach from James and the Giant
Peach.
BOY: The what now?
NURSE: Oh, I don’t think there’s a movie version of that.
BOY: Oh yeah there is. But where is the table?
NURSE: The one in front of you.
BOY: But this is a giant peach not a table.
NURSE: (ANNOYED) It’s a table that LOOKS like a giant peach.
BOY: So?
NURSE: Your parents are very unfortunate, I must say.
BOY: Yeah, they’re very poor. How’d y’ know?
NURSE: I didn’t. I’ve had enough of this. Sit quietly until your appointment.
[Pause]
NURSE: I SAID SIT QUIETLY NOT DANCE ON THE TABLE!
BOY: But…
NURSE: Oh for heaven’s sake!
Enter Dentist, who hands the boy a video game.
DENTIST: Here you go kid, latest version of Fortnite on here!
BOY: Sweet!
NURSE: Honestly, that’s all I had to do? Hand him a chunk of metal and he
would sit there quietly while his brain developed aggressive ideas and
became accustomed to late bedtime?
ENDS