Growing Around Application-The Christmas Eve Caper

[Scene: It's a dark and stormy night. Rain pours from the sky and we zoom in on the Dunn household. The entire house is dark, save for one ominous light in the second floor bedroom. Sally begins to narrate as the camera zooms.]

Sally: [dramatic voice-over that sounds strange coming from a 9-year old; not spoken just thought] Everything changed that Christmas night. What seemed like a routine
display of spirit and yuletide happiness was about to take a dramatic turn for the worst.

[We slowly pan towards Sally in her room but are unable to see her face. She sits on a
chair, needing a stack of books to reach the desk in front of her. A single lamp
illuminates the room and the systematic tapping of typewriter keys is the only sound that
can be heard above the blustery wind and heavy rain outside]

Sally: It was a peculiar case. In my years of detective work I have grown used to some
abnormal mysteries...

[She takes a dramatic sip of hot cocoa as she stares out the window.]

Sally: But nothing came close to the one mystery I couldn't solve.

[She shifts the typewriter to start a new line, again used for overplayed dramatic effect]

[Cut to a close-up with her eyes staring seriously into the camera]

Sally: The day our world shattered.

[A flash of lightning segways into a shot of Earth falling down the screen against a
starry background. Then, in slow motion, the sphere cracks like glass into several large
fragments that scatter across the screen. We realize that this is in fact the living room
of the Dunn household, where the fragments of the Earth now rest on the floor, near the
base of a Christmas tree . The room is filled with Christmas decorations and has a warm
glow. The camera pans upward to Linda, who walks in and notices the broken Earth
ornament. Her genial expression slowly turns into a mixture of horror and rage.]

[Linda shrieks and the scene changes.]

[The living room is still in the same condition as the last scene, but the red glow of
the fireplace makes the atmosphere appear more and more hostile. Linda is standing in the
center of the room while Timmy and Robert both stand opposite her. Linda's arms are
crossed and her anger is clear, though it is more of annoyance than actual hatred. Timmy
and Robert both look guilty and cannot meet her gaze.]

[Text appears: Christmas Eve, one year ago, 8:15 P.M.]

Linda: Well, one of you must have done it!

Timmy: Please settle down, Linda. It's just an ornament.

Robert: Yeah! Jeez, we can just get another one-

Linda: No. This was a limited edition model. You two wouldn't understand how much I
adored that ornament.

[Timmy and Robert give each other a knowing, nervous look. Linda is always like this
during the holidays, and the stress of creating a perfect Christmas is clear on their
faces. It wouldn't last, but when it did, it could spell death for the both of them.]

Robert: Well, maybe, Sally can help us out here. Where is she, anyway?

Linda: I just called her, she's on her way.

[As if on cue, a car comes flying down the street, plowing over a speed limit sign and
screeching to a halt outside the Dunn house. A few seconds later, the door opens and a
small figure enters the room. Sally is dressed in a complete Victorian outfit. A brown
fedora, which doesn't fit her in the slightest and completely covers her hair, except for
the eyes that stand out in the shadows of the hat. She also wears a trench coat that
extends to the floor, hiding her feet.]

Sally: I got the call.

Linda: [sigh] Oh thank goodness! Sally, you need to help us figure out who did this
terrible thing to my beautiful decor!

[She runs to give Sally a hug but the detective puts up a hand to block her.]

Sally: That's Detective Sally Dunn to you, citizen. And don't think you are not included
in this investigation.

[Linda has a puzzled look on her face as Sally walks to the center of the living room.
She tries to have an air of authority, but trips over the baggy coat. She gets up and
gestures for everyone to take a seat.]

Sally: Thank you. Ladies and gentleman...I've called you all here today for a very
important reason.

Linda: Actually, I call-

[Sally gives her a dirty look and Linda stares at her feet]

Sally: At approximately 8:00 this evening, we received a call stating that a priceless
ornament had been broken in the Dunn household. It is my job to determine which one of
you suspects are guilty for this act. The consequences will be...severe...

Robert: What-what are you gonna do, Sally?

Sally: The strictest punishment I can give. NO...

[everyone gasps]

...CHRISTMAS...

[everyone gasps louder]

...CAKE!!

[a final gasp, Timmy faints]

Sally: Now I don't want to point fingers here. But...

[She looks over at Robert and points at his face]

Sally: Robert you got a little something there...

[Robert notices the cocoa on his lips and wipes it off]

Sally: But I think that Timmy is the main suspect.

[Timmy wakes up]

Timmy: What!? Why me?

[Sally smiles]

Sally: All we be revealed in good time. Everyone, I promise you will be in good hands. As
a Level 70 inspector in the latest Professor Dayton game, I can assure you that I have
the skills to solve this case.

Timmy: Wait a minute, you stole my Professor Dayton-

Sally: DISMISSED!

[Sally quickly shoves Linda and Timmy out of the room, leaving Robert sitting awkwardly
in his chair. Sally smiles and walks back over.]

Sally: Every great detective needs a good sidekick to point out the obvious!

[She offers a hand to Robert]

You ready to solve this case?

[Robert smiles and takes her hand, pulling himself out of the chair. The two walk over to
the broken ornament on the floor.]

Robert: Wait, so how did you know it wasn't me?

Sally: I didn't. But Linda freaks me out around Christmastime and Timmy is giving me
clothes instead of a new video game.

[Robert's eyes light up. Sally crouches down to examine the pieces while Robert sneaks
clumsily to the other side of the tree to remove a sock-shaped gift with the tag "To
Sally, Love Robert. As this goes on, Sally takes out a magnifying glass to look at the
pieces, sniffs them, licks the pieces, then takes out a notebook to scribble down her
thoughts.]

Sally: I've got it!

[Robert fumbles the gift and hides the present behind his back with a guilty smile.]

Sally runs to the other side of the room and picks up a newspaper. She flips to the
crossword, which is all filled out except for an 8-letter word meaning "Fragile Christmas
decoration." She fills out 'ornament' and shows it proudly to Robert.

Robert: That's em...good. Any leads on who broke the ornament though?

Sally: Oh, yeah, I got nuthin'.

[The two huddle over the pieces and the camera is positioned like doctors over an
operating table.]

Sally: I can't make any sense out of it.

Robert: Actually, I think I have an idea-

[Sally shushes him]

Sally: Wait, wait, wait! I've got it!

[We see her arms moving but not what they are making. Her expression is a crooked smile,
like a dog on the scent of fresh food.]

Robert: What the...?

[His look appears to be that of admiration but in the next shot we see he is dumbfounded.
She has rearranged the pieces to form the letter "Y".]

Sally: How could I have not seen it sooner!? It's a Y, Robert!

[Robert gives her a puzzled look]

Sally: Ugh, don't you see? Y! As in yellow! And you know what else is yellow? Lemonade!
This is a message from Timmy to Linda! The case is solved!

[Sally runs upstairs to Timmy's room, tripping while she climbs up. Timmy remains,
staring at the pieces.]

Robert: The ornament fell on the carpet, which wouldn't have been hard enough to break
the globe on its own...

[Robert shrugs and runs upstairs]



[Scene: We are now in a dimly lit bedroom: Timmy's. He sits on his bed, sprawled out as
Robert and Sally stand over him with accusatory stares.]

[Text appears:  8:30 P.M., an hour and a half from bedtime]

Timmy: Why would I want to smash the ornament? Even if I did, you don't have any proof!

Sally: One word, Timmy.

[She pulls out her notebook and opens to the page full of notes, which is covered in
doodles of fedoras and a stick doodle Santa. In the center is a Y that is circled several
times over.

Sally: Y!

Robert: That's a letter, Sally.

Sally: Don't make me fire you for insubordination, Private! Listen Timmy, I was there
when it happened. Your game of lies is up.

Timmy: What are you talking about?

[Sally stares off into the distance and another flashback fades in.]

Sally (narrating): It was two summers ago at the lemonade store. Take-Your-Mother to Work
Day, if I'm not mistaken. You let Linda play around with some of her friends in the
produce aisle of the store. I was there to pick her up. And that's when it happened.
Kerplooey! She bumps into a fresh crate of lemons, sending them crashing to the floor! It
cost you a day's worth of sales. You yelled your head off and I took her home. Two years
later, you still haven't forgiven her.

[Flashback ends. Timmy stares at Sally, mouth agape.]

Timmy: That...was...brilliant...

[Sally smiles]

Sally: Really?

Timmy: Yes. If it wasn't a complete lie! I can't remember what I ate for breakfast a week
ago. How am I supposed to remember that?

Sally: Because...you...err...

Timmy: Wait a second! That was you! I remember now!

[New flashback fades in]

Timmy: You were picking up Linda and you brought that new controller for the Baseball
Simulator. You were practicing swinging and knocked the whole aisle down! That didn't
have anything to do with Linda!

[An awkward silence occurs as the flashback ends as everyone in the room stares at Sally.]

Sally [moping]: I got a triple, in case you were wondering.

Robert: You never were good at that one.

Timmy: Glad we got that settled. Now get out of my room!

[Sally and Robert rush out as the door slams behind them. They slowly walk down the
stairs, with Sally looking very disappointed]

Sally: I don't get it. All the clues pointed to Timmy.

Robert: Well, maybe we should try again.

Sally: I don't know, Robert. Let's just see if we can look at the crime scene again and
give it another try.

Robert: Good...idea.

[Sally and Robert continue fumbling around with the pieces until something catches
Sally's eye. It's a light brown stain on the edge of one of the pieces. She licks the
fragment slowly and takes a second to think about the taste.]

Robert: Well I don't think any of us were in the room in the last hour. Linda was
visiting a friend before she started cooking, I was taking care of some vacation
homework, and Timmy was at work. Maybe someone just came in and left like a robber.

Sally: Cocoa...

[Her eyes light up and the scene cuts back to the beginning of the investigation when she
pointed at the cocoa on Robert's lips. We cut to the present, where Sally slows turns her
head and stares at Robert with an incriminating look. Robert laughs nervously.]

Sally: Cocoa, Robert. The very drink that was on your lips not a moment ago. You thought
you had covered your tracks perfectly, but you thought wrong. EVERYBODY GET DOWN HERE!



[Scene changes. Sally is standing beside the fireplace while the three other family
members sit nervously in their chairs. She begins to pace.]

[Text appears: 9:00 P.M., one hour from bedtime]

Sally: Some recent information has been brought to light. A detail that changes the
entire investigation.

[Everyone looks on with bated breath]

Sally: A dried cocoa stain was found on one of the ornament pieces, meaning that someone
who was drinking cocoa recently was responsible for the incident.

[Robert is shuddering uncontrollably and sweat rolls down his face]

Sally: Therefore...

[Dramatic finger point accompanied by a flash of light]

Sally: YOU! ARE GUILTY!

[Sally points at the tree and realizes she spun too far, slowly moving her finger towards
Robert.]

Sally: ROBERT! How could you betray me like this? You were my most trusted advisor!

[Robert is still shaking.]

Robert: It wasn't me! I swear!

Sally: Save your lies for the judge.

[She whips out a pair of plastic toy handcuffs and binds Robert's hands]

Timmy: OBJECTION!

[Sally looks over in bewilderment.]

Sally: Overruled! I caught him fair and square!

Timmy: But Robert said himself that he wasn't in the living room for an hour. He was in
the room next to me and I didn't hear him leave it. There's no way he could have snuck
down, smashed the ornament, and then come back up!

Linda: You know guys, I'm kinda over the whole ornament thing. Let's just drop it and eat
some cake!

Sally: Then-then-wait-It must have been...

[She spins again and another dramatic accusation]

Sally: YOU! LINDA!

[A few seconds of silence as the camera holds on Sally's waning confidence]

Linda [softly but firmly]: Nope.

Sally: DANG IT!

[She dashes into the kitchen and comes back with a huge slice of chocolate cake.]

Sally: Well, I give up. Good night everybody. Merry Christmas to all. And to all a good
night.

[She runs up the stairs with the cake in hand and the room remains in silent amazement.]

Timmy: Next year, we're sticking with tinsel.



[Final scene: We return to the stormy night and the clicking of Sally's typewriter. She
is concluding her narration of the events.]

Sally: The culprit was never found and no one was punished. After reviewing the facts, I
have to admit it. It was the one mystery I could never solve.

[A subtle smile grows on her face]

[One last flashback: Sally is walking through the living room, swinging her video game
baseball bat. Out of nowhere, she connects with the globe ornament and it comes crashing
down, spilling the cup of cocoa in her hand. Without thinking, she scatters the pieces
around the carpet and runs to her car. She starts the ignition and drives maniacally into
the distance, taking out another speed limit sign on her way. While driving, a call comes
through to her car phone. It's Robert.]

Robert: Where are you going? Linda's going to be making her cake soon! You don't want to
miss out on that!

Sally: Just the costume store. I need to look good for the big night.

[She smiles at the camera and her grin carries over as it fades back to her at the
typewriter. She pauses before typing out her last line.]

Sally: Maybe some mysteries are best left unsolved.

[She takes the paper out of the typewriter and places it on the side. With a laugh, she
takes a huge bite of cake and a sip of cocoa. Then, after removing her fedora, she slides
under her covers and drifts peacefully off to sleep, as Christmas bells ring in the
distance.]



THE END