SCENE #9 MAX Oh man, oh man, they're doing it again... INT. HALLWAY - DAY Back and forth, back and forth we go before a white door. Every once in a while we lean in to sniff the crack under it. From beyond the insurmountable barrier subdued, but angry voices fill the air. Almost as if a married couple hiding an argument from their children. But they are not married, and they have no offspring. All they have is... ON MAX A black void against the bright interior of the apartment. He whimpers, eyes glowing with concern, furry paws working anxiously at the white carpet. MAX What do I do, what do I do... INT. BEDROOM - SAME A young man and woman (20s) are in the heat of an argument. Their voices are muffled, though, overcome by the voice over. MAX Why are they hiding in there? It sounds like they are in trouble! I want to help! INT. HALLWAY - SAME The woman's voice rises. Max's head tilts in response. INT. BEDROOM - SAME The man takes it, for now, waiting his turn. MAX I have to get in there! Let me in! Let me in! The woman's tirade is interrupted by a few short yaps. She turns to the door, concern in her face, but the man grabs her arm. She yells out in surprise. MAX He better not hurt her again! INT. HALLWAY - SAME Max paws at the door, growling. INT. BEDROOM - SAME The threat permeates the room. The man is undeterred. MAX I can help! I can help! But his cries are only more indecipherable barking. The man rubs his head, annoyed. The woman crosses her arms, concern in her face. The moment of pause allows for the situation to sink in. INT. HALLWAY - SAME The same moment, to Max, is silence, causing more agitation. He rushes back and forth, whining. INT. BEDROOM - SAME MAX What's going on? Did they leave? Are they hurt? Oh my, oh my. Where did they go? The woman and man are close. She doesn't make eye contact as he speaks softly to her, rubbing her arms. Then she looks at him and smiles. INT. HALLWAY - SAME Max begins barking hysterically, his little body shaking from the force. MAX Let me in! But a lower sound permeates his panic. He becomes silent, cocks his head, and listens. Soft noises, different from before. More sensual. Max's ears droop as he scurries away from the door, whimpering again. We fade to black as we hear... MAX They're doing it again...

Scene #10: Neil Vidya EXT - SUBURBAN HOUSE - MORNING Suburban Saturday. Sprinklers out, kids playing, families walking. Middle-class America. Robert (40s) is pulling 2x4s out of the back of his pickup truck and stacking them on his driveway. He wipes his brow and looks at his family on the lawn. Megan (30s) awkwardly passes a soccer ball with their daughter Cailie (11). Their dog, Terry, runs back and forth after the ball. Nate (17) sits on the front steps of the house, his head buried in a Japanese comic. MEGAN Great job, Cailie. (to Robert) Honey, can you look at this? She's kicking it into the air! Robert looks over, gives a weak smile, gets back to unloading the 2x4s. Callie gives the ball a big kick. CALLIE There! MEGAN So great! (to Robert) Honey, you see that? ROBERT (snap) I’m busy here! Megan and Callie just stare at Robert as he continues with the 2x4s. Nate looks up, rolls his eyes, and puts the book down. NATE I saw it. Nice boot, Callie! CALLIE smiles and her eyes widen as Nate comes over and touches the ball, juggling it on his feet. CALLIE I can do it again! Pass me the ball! NATE smiles and keeps juggling the ball as Callie runs at him trying to grab the ball with her hands. NATE No hands! CALLIE Give it, Nate! SLAM! Robert drops one of the 2x4s flat and it makes a loud smack. The family look over, surprised. ROBERT (irritation) Nate, don’t be so fucking lazy. Mow the lawn, clean the house, do something. Always goofing around- MEGAN Don’t snap at Nate just because you dropped something! ROBERT And what about you? Would it kill you to lend a hand? MEGAN We agreed on this - Saturdays are my day off. ROBERT How about me? Where’s my fucking day off!? Some neighbours look over. MEGAN Robert! Lower your voice. We pan to Terry the dog, who’s now slumped and watching the family argue in slow motion. TERRY THE DOG (vo) I don’t like other dogs. (beat) I like balls. (beat) I chase them on Saturdays. Always have. (beat) But lately… it’s like this. First, my owners bark. Then- We see Megan storm inside, taking Callie with her. Nate follows. TERRY (CONT) -she goes inside. Then- We see an enraged Robert curse at Nate, summoning him over. TERRY (CONT) He yells at the boy. Then- We see an indignant Nate help Robert with the 2x4s. Robert is mouthing off. TERRY -they start barking back and forth, and- Nate mouths at Robert. TERRY -it’s what happens next that I hate most. We see Nate slam a 2x4 to the ground, causing it to break. Robert glares at Nate, furious. Nate stares back, gulps. TERRY I just want to play ball. NATE turns around and starts to walk off. Robert explodes, dropping his 2x4 and almost running towards Nate. Nate speeds up into a run as he approaches the front door, slams it and locks it as Robert hits the front door. Robert slams on the front door, yelling. He catches himself, pauses, turns around and sees some neighbours staring blankly. As he looks around they turn back around to mind their own business. Robert’s eyes drop, and land on Terry. Terry looks at Robert, then slumps onto the grass, sad.

SCENE #14: INT. DINING ROOM - DAY STEVEN and MARTHA lay down groceries on the table. SHADOW, the dog, sprints into the room. SHADOW (VO): Oh boy oh boy food food food. Steven smiles at Shadow as he continues putting food in the cabinets. SHADOW (VO): What did you get me? I hope there's a toy too. Martha takes the cake out and slams the paper bag down. MARTHA: What is this? SHADOW (VO): Is this a new toy? Shadow puts his face into the bag and puts his head inside. He lifts his head up with the bag still on his head and panics. He claws himself out of the bag. SHADOW (VO): I don't like this toy. STEVEN: So it's one cake? What's the problem. MARTHA: The problem is your doctor said no excuses. STEVEN: My birthday's coming up. What do you want me to eat? SHADOW (VO): Why aren't they feeding me yet? Shadow looks up at the two, where Martha has turned away from the groceries and is holding her fingers on her temple. STEVEN: Just let me have this one? MARTHA: I'm not letting you do this to yourself. Martha picks up the cake and throws it away in the bin. STEVEN: Fine, then we just won't celebrate my birthday either. MARTHA: Steven? SHADOW (VO): Food giver? Shadow puts his paws on Steven and stands up. Steven ignores Shadow and walks out. MARTHA: Please don't do this? Martha leaves after her as Shadow stays in the kitchen? SHADOW: What's happening?

FEEDBACK #16: I love the circular nature of the screenplay (especially as a humorous tone at the end) and I love the intercutting that keeps happening here. It's great to see how the dog actively stops them from fighting. The only nitpick I have is at the line "But they are married, and have no offspring." It's a piece of exposition that doesn't affect the scene here. If you were to give them more descriptions or show their immaturity, the actors and readers will get a sense of how it will look.