Testament of Youth Page #7

-like ammunition!

ROLAND:

No -

VERA:

Stop pretending!

ROLAND:

I kept quiet because - I was

moved by it, I thought it

beautiful, and - you seem an

impossible person to say that to.

This silences her. She plays with a stick she’s picked up.

A long moment.

VERA:

I’m not.

ROLAND:

No.

VERA:

(hesitant, more open)

You really - don’t think me

ridiculous?

He smiles, shakes his head.

VERA:

What if I told you I want to be a

writer - and - I even dream of

earning a living by it?

Roland smiles his gentle, confident smile.

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ROLAND:

Don’t you need some experience

first?

VERA:

Of course!

A beat.

ROLAND:

I want to write too, as it happens -

I’m a little in my mother’s shadow.

She looks at him -

VERA:

Is she good?

He nods.

VERA:

How’s she done it..?

ROLAND:

Sheer pig-headedness. You should

meet her, you’d get on.

They both laugh gently.

ROLAND:

(sincere)

You must write. Really.

VERA:

No one’s ever said that to me

before.

They smile.

18 OMMITTED. 18

19 EXT. WHITE ROAD, BUXTON - LATER 19

They’re on the way home. Vera, holding some flowers she’s

gathered, walks ahead of the three men, down a long, winding

white road across the gentle sloping hills.

She can hear them chatting and laughing behind her, she turns

to look back at them

And her eyes directly meet Roland’s. He’s been concentrating

on her. She looks away again, in sudden shyness....

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17

20 INT. VERA’S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT 20

Vera is putting some of the flowers she collected into

frames. She snaps a frame shut, takes it across to the wall

to hang there, when she catches a glimpse of herself in a

long mirror -

-she looks again at her reflection, suddenly thinking about

herself in a different way, as a woman -

She runs her hands over her waist, her hips, turning to look

at herself, trying to assess her appeal.

She puts a finger to her lips - imagining his kiss -

She starts at a sound at the door; goes over. Someone is on

the other side, she can feel the presence; she knows it’s

him. Quietly, she presses her body against the door

Roland, on the other side, is very still too -

A rustling noise - she looks down. He’s pushing a piece of

paper under the door - a poem. She picks it up and reads:

“Untitled” by Roland Leighton -a soft smile.

Vera waits, listening - to his presence retreating down the

corridor.

21 INT. HALLWAY/LIVING ROOM, MELROSE - MORNING 21

Vera is in front of a hallway mirror, checking her appearance

- she’s made more effort than usual with her dress.

Satisfied, she walks on down the hall when she hears voices

in the living room. She stops to listen.

EDWARD O.S.

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