ONE WEEKEND

SUPERIMPOSE: "Thursday"

FADE IN:

EXT. RENO, NEVADA ABOVE F.U.R.S. - DAY

A small SPARROW soars through clear blue skies. Wind rushes through its feathers. It glides over a small city surrounded by snow-capped indigo mountains. Its wings flutter and it dives into the valley.

( MUSIC : "OVERTURE" )

The "OVERTURE" swells as the bird flies down the side of the FORTUNA URSINE RESORT & SPA (F.U.R.S.), a large hotel in the middle of the city with alabaster walls, gilded windows, and glimmering lights. At ground level, the sparrow ducks between busy workers hastily moving crates and various construction materials. The sparrow perches on a plastic crate atop a cart pulled by an individual with the word "VOLUNTEER" in white on their back. Glass doors open and the volunteer pulls the cart through.

INT. F.U.R.S. - CONTINUOUS

HALLWAY

Inside, light gleams through large windows into a hallway lined with several joyful volunteers, performing tasks, moving in unison to the beat of the overture (0:20). Past them, a set of double doors swing open to a large auditorium. The volunteer pulling the cart continues through the doors.

MAIN STAGE

Purple curtains flank a large performance stage. DIEGO, a frazzled, gray-spotted hyena with intense yellow eyes stands on the main stage directing with dramatic hand movements. He barks orders that cannot be heard over the continued overture. The bird flies up as the cart clatters over some power cables stretched out across the floor. Diego turns toward backstage, the bird flies past him and disappears into the ceiling supports.

Diego's tail stands straight out as he raises his hands up. The purple curtain lifts to reveal irregular rectangle structures on the back of the stage. Diego snaps his finger and each rectangle, of a different color, lights up. Diego gestures and the color bars are hoisted up by ropes. The background fades out, leaving only the colored bars, the title fades in over.

TITLE OVER:

ONE WEEKEND

FADE TO:

INT. THISTLE'S APARTMENT - DAY

The title suspends in front of a white door inside a well-lit studio apartment which is highly maintained, if not for the mess of clothes strewn about the bed and floor. Carelessly the pile is settled next to a backpack and an overly-full wheeled suitcase. The logo fades away with the overture.

Outside the apartment, the sound of somebody running up a stairwell and down a hallway can be heard. The noise comes to a halt just as it reaches the door. With the jangle of keys and the clunk of a deadbolt, the door opens. THISTLE runs through the door and up to a wooden dresser in the center of the room. He slides open a drawer and frantically pulls out various shirts and throws them over his shoulder.

Thistle throws a few other shirts onto the bed.

Thistle holds up a green and yellow shirt. It unfolds to reveal the text "Good Boix" in cursive typeface printed on the front. He bunches up the shirt and hugs it, squeezing it to his cheek fluff with a big smile. He caresses it for a moment. Without a second thought, the dark blue work polo is stripped and he quickly dawns the Good Boix shirt, tail wagging all the while.

He shoulders the backpack and wheels the suitcase out into the hallway. He pauses to look into his apartment, takes a deep breath, then shuts the door.

EXT. GAS STATION - DAY

CLOVER, a mature polar bear with a dad-bod and sport coat, leans against his car. A gas pump chugs fuel into a beat-up, paint-worn SUV. He thumbs out a message on his phone.

INT. SAHNY'S APARTMENT – DAY

A young, brown-spotted hyena with bright-colored attire and the overall demeanor of an avid partier, SAHNY lounges on their couch. They review a mound of alcohols, fursuit props, and vibrant furry masses packed away in and around plastic storage bins. A phone nearby buzzes. Sahny reads over it and snickers. The hyena tips the bottom of their phone up to their mouth and speaks into it.

On screen is the conversation between Sahny and Clover on an app called SocialCreature. Sahny navigates to the "posts" section of the app.

Sahny groans and flops backward on the couch. They play with their phone and speak into it once more.

Their phone chimes.

INT. BAZ'S PLACE - DAY

BAZ, a sergal with clothing as bold as her fur is gray, sits in a computer chair. She slurps from a noodle cup. Sahny's message is on the SocialCreature desktop app. She scoffs and types on her keyboard with one hand.

Baz slurps a noodle. Little bits of juice sprinkle on the desk next to some various crushed beverage cans and emptied noodle cartons. In the background, a campy old western plays on a TV. The computer dings and a small notification appears in the bottom right corner of the screen. She leans toward it.

Baz sets down the noodle cup. She places her hand to her brow, closes her eyes, leans back, and sighs.

INT. AIRPORT #1 - DAY

Thistle stands with his wheeled suitcase and backpack in front of gigantic windows overlooking an airport runway. A commercial aircraft rolls into a gate. Thistle reads over a boarding pass. He closes his eyes, takes a slow deep breath. The opening chords for "ONE WEEKEND" strum in. He sings and dances across the terminal.

( MUSIC : "ONE WEEKEND" )

INT. BAZ'S PLACE - DAY

Baz kicks away from her desk and spins in her chair as she opens with her lines. She continues dancing around her room on, around, and with her furniture.

EXT. SAHNY'S APARTMENT - DAY

Clover and Sahny load up the SUV while dancing with Sahny's luggage and props.

Both sit inside the SUV. The door slams and the music becomes muffled as if it's in the SUV.

( END: "ONE WEEKEND" )

INT. CLOVER'S SUV - DAY

Clover clutches the wheel at the "ten-n-two". 80's rock plays low on the radio. Sahny scrolls down on their phone. Clover clears his throat and leans toward Sahny.

Sahny smirks. Clover looks over at them with a look of annoyance that fades to parental disappointment.

Sahny gives a "what" gesture, shakes their head, and turns their attention back to their phone. Clover rolls his eyes, shifts his weight, and rests his head on his arm propped against the driver window.

EXT. BAZ'S PLACE - DAY

Clover's SUV rolls into the parking lot and parks next to Baz standing on the sidewalk with her backpack and messenger bag. Sahny opens the SUV door and hugs Baz.

Sahny reluctantly squeezes themselves up and over the plastic bins of their numerous suits, having to shift two of their three fursuit heads to press against the rear windshield. The ceiling of the SUV is almost a comfortable pressure. And with a nervous laugh and some effort, they are able to secure the phone that was previously in their pocket. Clover looks over at Baz's bag with a suspicious eyebrow raised.

Baz sits with her bags at her feet. And as if she didn’t hear the question, looks in the back at Sahny pressed against the ceiling.

Sahny blows raspberries, not looking up from their phone. Baz smiles, turns forward, and pulls out her phone.

The SUV drives away.

INT. AIRPLANE #1 - DAY

Thistle sits in a window seat of a plane. He buries his muzzle into the top of the backpack clutched tightly in his lap. He takes long, deep breaths. His eyes, extra wide and staring into the distance through the window. His ears flat against his head.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT #1, a short gray ferret with kind eyes, leans in.

Thistle looks up towards her. She points down at his bag.

Thistle looks down at the bag and loosens his grip on it.

She smiles, nods, and walks away. Thistle tucks his bag under the seat in front him.

Thistle looks astounded at the intercom speaker, his floppy ears perked, eyes wide and concerned. The pilot is drowned out as Thistle's side of the plane grows louder with shouts and laughter. Thistle blinks, looking out the window.

A naked deer runs across the view of Thistle's window being chased by airport security.

Thistle glows bright red, he covers his eyes and blindly pulls down the window screen, just in time for the flash from the airport security taser. The other passengers shout out an "OOOH!".

Thistle fidgets with his phone's tactile buttons, blankly staring past the screen. He snaps out of it when the attendant returns with a few packs of crackers.

Thistle thanks the nice lady with a brief smile and nod. Opening the packet of crackers, he places one on his tongue and holds it in his mouth.

The plane starts rolling across the tarmac. Thistle takes a deep breath. Some garbled message over the intercom is drowned out by the sound of his breathing. The plane rounds a corner and halts. The engines' whir builds to a full roar. He grabs the edge of the armrest. The plane rumbles as it gains speed down the runway. He presses against the seat. His breath grows shorter, louder. The murmur of the rest of the passengers is but a hush. The plane tips up. Thistle presses even harder against the seat, his claws dig into the armrest. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes.

His breath softens as the plane's rumbles smooth out to steady swaying in the air. Thistle remains with his eyes closed, pressed against the seat. His legs bouncing.

He takes a deep breath and his eyes peel open to glance at the window shade. He reaches toward the shade, hesitates. Then, eases the shade to reveal the sun shining across a clear blue sky. Below, there's a scene like a Bob Ross painting, complete with fluffy white clouds, lines etching out roads on a green landscape of lush fields and happy little trees.

Thistle looks on with awe. His face nearly pressed to the window, tear shimmering in his eye and the biggest of all smiles.

He turns back to his seat, pulling out his phone. He pauses and returns it to his pocket. Turning again to the view.

DISSOLVE TO:

Thistle reclines with his tray table down, reading from an in-flight catalog of useless novelties. The seat belt indicator bings overhead. He glances up, sets his magazine aside and locks his tray table in place. He peeks out the window.

The plane is engulfed in layers of white as it passes through the middle of a cloud. It breaks through the cloud to reveal patches of residential areas below. Strips of land blend into the surrounding sea. The whole sight seems a million miles down. An inaudible mumble of the captain barks out over the intercom.

Thistle leans away from the window, looking as if he's about to faint. He claps his hand to his forehead, sighing. He takes a deep breath and closes the window blind. Grabbing the armrests, he presses into his seat.

The plane rumbles as it touches down. Thistle jumps. The plane slows down and the engine whine quiets. The audio overhead barked out a garbled message, about the only clear thing said:

Thistle doesn't hesitate in whipping his device out, slamming down on the power button until that welcome message flashes and the home screen renders. He breathes a sigh of relief as his posture relaxes. He wipes his palm to his eye. He shoots forward, gripping his phone with both hands.

Frantically digging through his bag, he pulls out a boarding pass and reads it over. He looks at his phone screen, and back to the document. He throws his hands on top of his head.

He scrambles his seat belt loose. Grabs his backpack and runs up the aisles. He makes his way to the front where the LEAD FLIGHT ATTENDANT, a heavy-set badger who looks very crowded in the small aircraft, blocks the aisle with her palm out.

Thistle plants himself in the empty seat she pointed out, clasping his bag and bouncing his feet.

Thistle shows her the boarding pass. She glances at it.

The plane docks with the terminal. Flight attendant #1 opens the cabin door. Thistle shoots out of the opening, running down the corridor.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. F.U.R.S. - DAY

KAREN, a well-dressed fox jogs up to Diego. The hyena runs his fingers nervously through his hair, power-walking through the pristine halls of the F.U.R.S. Karen struggles to keep up with his pace. She reads from a clipboard.

Diego stops to rub his temples and nervously runs his fingers through his disheveled hair again letting out a long yawn. He pauses long enough for Karen to interject.

Diego snorts and considers what he was just told. Without even looking at Karen he breaks into a light jog.

Karen struggles to keep up and yells after him as he gets farther away.

Karen trails off as the Yeen gets further and further away. Karen gives up the pursuit and lets out a deep sigh, looking annoyed and tired. She rests her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Diego yells back at Karen.

She steps off into a jog again.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. AIRPLANE #2 - DAY

Thistle rushes down another terminal corridor.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT #2 is about to shut the door when they stop and pull it open for Thistle. He nearly runs into them as he passes the doorway in a hurry.

Catching his breath, he turns into the plane. He hustles along the aisles, reading his boarding pass and scans the seating numbers. Most of the seats are already filled.

He plops down into an aisle seat, panting. DAVID, an aged viper with piercing two-toned eyes in the seat next to him, glares down at Thistle cautiously. Thistle opens his eyes and scans the area, growing frantic. David leans away from him.

David sighs and rolls his eyes.

Leaning back in his seat, Thistle swallows hard and takes a deep breath.

DISSOLVE TO:

Thistle snacks on a cracker while watching out the window. A bell overhead sounds. He looks up at it, still chewing. He looks across the aisle at another passenger who has taken out their device. Thistle swallows, dusts his fingers, pulls out his phone, and types out a message.

Clover's notification sounds.

INT. GAS STATION - DAY

Clover stands behind an old sheep lady in line, he carries a soda and sunflower seeds. He pulls the phone from his pocket and scans it. Sahny steps up behind him, carrying an aggressive energy drink and a cylinder of chips. Baz holds a large drink can of tea and a box of cookies. He turns to the two of them.

His phone chimes again, they step up to the cashier as the old sheep shuffles out of the line. Clover reads his phone and clicks his tongue.

Sahny bashfully dips their head.

Velcro rips as Baz opens the top flap of her messenger bag, she rummages through it. Clover lightly presses his fingers against her arm. She stops and looks at him. He slides the tea and cookies next to his items. Baz smiles and mouths "Thank you".

INT. CLOVER'S SUV - DAY

Baz, Sahny, and Clover exit the gas station with their snacks in hand, and climb into the SUV. In the rearview mirror, Clover watches Sahny struggle to settle down between a fursuit bin and wine boxes.

Sahny blows raspberries as they shimmy into a spot and buckle in.

The SUV creaks as it takes the slight dip out of the parking lot and onto the road.

DISSOLVE TO:

Baz doodles on her phone, Clover relaxed at the wheel, she lowers her phone.

Baz scratches the top of her snout with the stylus, looks out the window at the passing scenery.

Clover glances out the side window through the corner of his eye.

Baz looks up at him for a moment, then turns her attention back to her phone doodle.

DISSOLVE TO:

Sahny watches the scenery out one window, Baz out the other.

DISSOLVE TO:

Sahny's foot paws press against the car door as they lay in the crowded bench seat, playing some game on their phone. Clover quickly looks toward Baz and clears his throat.

Baz lowers her phone. Biting her lip, she looks out the window.

Sahny lowers their phone to their chest.

Sahny sits up and leans into the front. Taking in a big breath through their snoot, smiling wide.

Sahny's smiles fades as they sink back into the seat, cowing their head.

Sahny mumbles something affirmative as they hide their face in the phone.

Baz grins then throws up her fists in mock fisticuffs.

Everyone laughs. Clover shakes his head with a big smile.

Sahny lets out a little hyena giggle. All the laughs fade. Baz turns back to Sahny.

Sahny nods.

Baz nods, then turns back to look out the window.

( MUSIC : "REG LINE" )

Several landscapes fade in and out as the SUV drives down the long stretch of road. The sun disappears and the sky fades to night. The guitar strums in for "REG LINE". Sahny turns around in the seat and grins at the fursuit head facing out the rear window. Baz yawns and stretches in her seat. Clover bobs his head to the music.

The SUV rounds a bend in the freeway. Through the windshield, just beyond a set of trees, the F.U.R.S on the horizon glistens in the setting sun. Sahny points to it from the back seat. Baz looks up from her phone.

INT. AIRPORT #2 - DAY

Thistle stands in a queue, lined up behind the ticket checker to board the flight. He advances little by little with the song advancement.

Thistle counts on his fingers as if to list off each line in the following verse.

EXT. RENO AIRPORT PICKUP - NIGHT

Clover stands by his car, opens the trunk and waves Thistle over.

Thistle dives in for a hug much to the surprise of the bear. Thistle beaming up at the bear.

Clover looking a bit awkward in the hug, nerviously brushing Thistle's headfur.

Thistle quickly taking a step back, but still holding on to the bear's paws.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. F.U.R.S. HALLWAY - NIGHT

Clover and Thistle standing in a F.U.R.S hallway. Clover carrying Thistle's backpack. Thistle takes off, dragging Clover behind.

INT. REGISTRATION ROOM - NIGHT

Droves of animal folk in all different shapes, sizes, and colors form several queues in front of tables with volunteers taking their identification in exchange for a conference badge.

A handful even get a bag of swag given to them. DASH, a slender, griffin male with a RADIO on his shoulder, hurries alongside Diego behind the registration tables. Diego is dressed up in a satiny purple dress shirt, black button-up vest and shiny slacks with a chain hanging from the back pocket.

Diego grabs the radio off Dash's shoulder and speaks into it. The cord attached to the radio tugs Dash along as Diego quickly turns around.

The registrants join in, dancing from their place in line, around the ropes separating the lines.

The volunteers and the registrants return to the positions they were a moment ago.

( END: "REG LINE" )

Diego attempts to put the radio back on Dash's shoulder mount. After a few attempts, he flings the loose cord over Dash's head and rests the radio on his shoulder. Diego nods and turns away. Dash continues on, fixing his radio. Diego looks out on the moving registration line.

Clover and Thistle join in the back of the registration line.

Diego squints and tilts his head a bit.

Diego rushes out of the room.

Standing in the midst of the line, Thistle's tail wags erratically as he lists off to Clover from his phone.

Thistle sighs contently, catching his breath, and leans his head against Clover.

Met with groans from the crowd, KING, a lion with a large neon green dyed mane, shouts to the crowd.

Thistle counts the people in front of them in line. He whips his head to Clover.

Thistle carries on as he turns into Clover's side and becomes muffled and incoherent.

King approaches the bear and hands him two tickets. Still falling apart against his taller companion, Thistle misses a short inaudible conversation between the lion and the bear.

King laughs and turns to walk away. She waves and he waves back with his free hand.

Focusing again on Thistle, Clover brushes the tiny dog's cheek fluff with the tickets. Thistle peeks an eye out to see, his ears perk.

INT. THE GUEST ROOM - NIGHT

A modern design decorates a double queen hotel guest room. Through the window, the technicolor downtown Reno skyline gleams against the silhouette of the mountain in the distance. Baz draws at a small table in the corner. She doesn't notice as Clover and Thistle walk into the room.

Tossing a dusty duffel bag on the floor, Clover clears his throat. To which, Baz looks up from her sketchbook.

Baz sets her sketchbook aside and stands up. Thistle reaches out a hand to Baz. She looks at his hand, chuckles, and shakes it.

Baz spreads her arms out for a hug.

Thistle gives Baz a gentle hug. She backs up and looks at his "Good Boix" shirt.

A faint alarm sounds. Thistle's hand dives into his pocket. Whipping out his phone, he flicks the screen. The alarm stops.

Thistle crawls under the covers, shuffles around, and his footpaw pushes out his pants which thump on the floor. A lump under the covers spins around three times, then flops completely still. A moment later, little snores emit from the bedding.

Baz's stomach growls and she claps a gloved hand on her abdomen.

Clover gives her a look of mild disappoint.

Baz places her hand on her arm and stares off to the side as her words trail off. Past a raised eyebrow, Clover looks her over. With a sigh, he turns his glare into a sympathetic gaze.

Baz rubs her palms into her eyes.

She drags her hands down her cheeks, stretching and distorting her face.

She moves her hands back up to squish her cheeks into her eyes, holding her head.

Baz's stomach growls. Clover smirks.

She smiles, hugs him. She grabs her sketchbook and messenger bag. Clover rolls out a sleeping bag from his duffel and sits on it. Baz looks down at him.

Baz nods and heads towards the door.

Baz smirks, throws a quick wave, and exits.

Clover lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He takes a drawn-out deep breath and closes his eyes.

FADE OUT.