Four Rooms

Eyes closed, the kids inhale. They smell the ointment and nod yes.

TED

Well, she'd just dab a little of this over each eyelid, so that I would be sure and keep my eyes closed all night.

Ted is spreading the ointment over their eyelids as he says this.

TED

There. Now you've got some, too! Don't open your eyes or it'll burrrn, burn, burn. The smell helps clear your sinuses too, so it's doing double duty.

JUANCHO

What happens when it's morning?

TED

If you keep your eyes closed all night, it will wear off by morning. But DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES BEFORE THAT...

SARAH

Did you ever open your eyes?

EXTREME CLOSEUP on Ted's eyes.

TED

Yes... I did.

The children are quiet.

TED

And now look at me.

CHILDREN

(in unison)

We can't.

TED

Good. You'll do just fine. Sleep well and I won't tell your parents about the champagne.

Ted leaves.

CUT TO:

AFTER A MOMENT OF DARKNESS

After a moment of darkness, the night is disturbed by the loud crashing of fireworks outside the window.

Sarah sits up, eyes closed. Her face feels the warmth coming from the window and she tilts her head toward it.

The light of the fireworks dances its reflections off her face.

She inhales deeply... then makes a sour face. She goes for the bathroom, arms outstretched like a blind girl. She gets to the bathroom, turns on the light, and searches for the sink.

She begins to wash the ointment off her eyes very carefully. She dries her eyes thoroughly and opens them... checks them in the mirror. A little red, but otherwise fine.

She goes back into the bedroom, turns on the television and grabs the new champagne bottle. She shakes it violently.

Juancho wakes. He turns his head to her. His eyes are still closed.

JUANCHO

Are you watching TV?

The champagne bottle explodes. She pours herself a glass.

SARAH

Yep. If you wanna watch too, you have to go wash your face.

Juancho gets up smiling and tries to run to the bathroom. He slams into the wall, hard.

SARAH

Be careful...

Juancho walks into the bathroom a little slower, more cautious.

Sarah pours herself another glass. She downs the glass and shudders.

She smells the bad smell again. Only now she really smells it.

She smells her feet. Nothing. She smells the champagne. Nothing.

Juancho enters the room and sits on the bed. Sarah grabs his foot and smells it. She drops his foot.

Juancho stares blankly at her.

Sarah looks down at the mattress. She smells the mattress.

Juancho looks at her as if she's drunk.

Sarah leaps off the bed and turns on the room lights. She takes a huge swig from the champagne bottle, then stalks toward the mattress.

Juancho leaps off the bed as well and stands back.

Sarah pulls the mattress off of the bedsprings enough to see what is underneath it.

Juancho screams. Sarah is too stunned to scream. Stuffed into the bedsprings is a woman's dead and beaten corpse.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON

Ted's phone ringing.

Ted looks at the phone as if pondering whether or not to answer it. He taps his fingers. Finally he answers the phone.

ROOM 716

SARAH

Ted!

TED

What do you want now, for Christ's sake! Who died?

SARAH

(near tears)

I don't know, but she's in my bed!

TED

What?

SARAH

There's a dead body in my bed!

TED

That's just your brother. Sound asleep.

SARAH

No, there's a woman's dead body inside the bed, in the mattress.

TED

You saw the body?

SARAH

Yes!

TED

Impossible. You've got ointment on your eyes! You can't see shit! Now go to sleep!

Ted hangs up the phone.

Sarah redials.

Ted answers.

TED

Godammit, go to sleep!

SARAH

(crying now)

I washed it off...

TED

You washed off the ointment?

SARAH

(pissed, drunk)

Yeah, didn't you ever think to do that?

Ted is quiet on the line. Thinking.

Juancho lights up a cigarette for real and takes nervous puffs.

Sarah carries the phone over to Juancho and snatches the cigarette away from him. She stuffs it in her own mouth and nervously takes a long drag on it.

SARAH

(through cigarette)

You never tried it, did you? Then you agree I'm smarter than you...

TED

All right. Now you listen to me...

SARAH

Get your ass up here and call the police, because there's a dead body in my bed and it smells like shit and it looks even worse, and if you don't help us, my dad is gonna lay you down right next to her, I swear to fucking God!

She drinks from her champagne bottle. She's pulling the mattress back over the corpse again.

JUANCHO

Go, sis.

She's drunk all right.

TED

(incensed)

I'm coming up and if there isn't a dead body by the time I get there, I'll make one myself. You!

FRONT DESK

Ted slams down the phone.

As he walks away from the counter, he spots the children's parents driving up to the valet out front.

TED

Oh shit!

Ted breaks into a sprint and dives into a closing elevator.

CUT TO:

ROOM 716

Sarah continues to cover the body with the mattress.

ELEVATOR

CLOSE ON Ted's face as the elevator car races up seven floors.

LOBBY

The Man is carrying his drunk Wife through the lobby. Not happy.

ROOM 716

Ted bursts into the room. He sees the disarray.

Ted pushes the champagne out of Sarah's hand, spilling it onto the floor.

TED

What the fuck is going on??!!

He sees Juancho with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth and rips it away from him. The butt goes flying onto the carpet near the spreading champagne spill.

TED

Your parents are on their way up and I'm not taking responsibility for this mess!

SARAH

Check under the mattress!

TED

For what?

SARAH

(crying)

For the body, can't you smell it?

TED

It's your feet!

Sarah grabs the mattress and pulls it off herself.

Ted sees the rotting corpse.

Vomit spews out of Ted's mouth.

TED

(gurgles through vomit-spewing lips)

Jesus fucking Christ! What the fuck is this?

He tears at the phone.

TED

(into the phone)

Police, it's an emergency!

(pause)

Hello, Police, this is the Mon Signor Hotel, get someone up here right fucking now, there's a DEAD WHORE stuffed under the mattress!

Tears well in Sarah's eyes as she looks at the body.

SARAH

Don't call her that...

TED

(into the phone)

I'm dead fucking serious, there's a dead fucking Whore stuffed in the bedsprings of the fucking bed!

SARAH

Stop calling her that!!

Sarah grabs the hypodermic needle from under the curtain and stabs it into Ted's leg.

TED

FUCK!!

Sarah steps back, almost tripping over the champagne bottle. She picks up the bottle and holds it defensively in case Ted tries to retaliate. Ted spins around, now noticing the needle sticking out of his leg.

TED

Jesus!!

Juancho lights up another cigarette.

The champagne spill has spread to the fallen cigarette butt. The carpet bursts into flames around the spill.

CUT OUTSIDE TO:

EXT. ROOM 716

CLOSE ON a key going into the keyhole outside.

BACK TO:

ROOM 716

Ted tries to pull the syringe out of his leg, but yanking it makes it break in two, the plunger in his hand, and the needle still stuck in his leg.

Ted staggers and grabs hold of the dead woman's foot for support as he steps on the remote control, flipping the TV on to the Nudie channel, just as...

Man opens the door.

Man stands at the door, drunk Wife unconscious on one arm, the door knob in the other hand. He's looking mean.

MAN'S POV

Focused on the dead woman in the bedsprings. We pan up the dead woman's leg to find Ted holding her foot. We pan down Ted's leg to find the hypodermic needle jutting out... then pan over to the other hand holding the broken syringe plunger.

We pan over to the Nudie channel, then down to the fire blazing behind the children. Pan up to the dripping champagne bottle in Sarah's hand, then over to the cigarette hanging out of Juancho's mouth. Juancho tosses his cigarette out of his mouth to an area behind him. Another blaze starts immediately.

Man drops his Wife to the floor.

In the WIDE SHOT of Ted and the children, we see that the fireworks are bursting big and bright outside the window behind them. Almost as bright as the flames eating through the room.

Man simply glares at Ted. Finally Man speaks...

MAN

Did they misbehave?

Ted stares blankly at Man (the camera) as the sprinklers burst on... drenching the room as the picture

FADES TO BLACK

FADE UP ON

INT. HOTEL LOBBY – NIGHT

SUPER: "ONE MINUTE AFTER ROBERT'S STORY. TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE DAWN."

The elevator rides down to the lobby. The doors open and a wet, disheveled, and frantic Ted steps out.

He staggers across the lobby to the reception desk. He grabs the phone.

INT. BETTY'S APT – ALMOST DAWN

The wild New Year's Eve party is winding down. Some Guests are passed out, some are asleep, some are making out, two guys are playing Nintendo, a Girl watches them. The phone RINGS. The Girl, who wears a "Guinness Stout" T-shirt, answers the phone.