Screen Play

Janitor’s Revenge

Story by Jordan Jackson

Screenplay by Jordan Jackson

Anell Enning

Mohammad Zaidi

Wednesday morning and the bell has just gone ARCHIE locks the school gate and heads towards the Janitors office, on his way there he passes the main hallway, its grubby and lacks lustre, the floor reveals the evidence of stampeding students anxious to learn he collects his equipment to get ready for the daily job. 

Its 10 o’clock and ARCHIE has almost finished mopping the main hallway, the shine from the morning sun reflects off of the floor making it look like glass.  There’s a large bang from the main door and a muddy student (BARRY SCOTT) comes rushing past ARCHIE.  BARRY SCOTT loses his footing slightly and almost falls BARRY SCOTT says to ARCHIE, ‘Where’s the wet floor sign?’.

BARRY SCOTT walks to the other end of the corridor looks at the trail of dirty foot prints then at ARCHIE and then walks into his class.  ARCHIE re-wrings the mop out and proceeds cleaning the mud trail.

Just then ARCHIE is called by a member of staff reporting that the coffee machine in the staff room is broken.  ARCHIE tries to explain that he needs to just finish the floor and also that he is not contracted to repair the coffee machine it’s maintained by an external company.  The member of staff is quite adamant that he needs to have a look at it as she cannot start her day without a coffee.  ARCHIE sighs and to the staff room on the way there they pass another student (CRYSTAL CLEAN) with muddy shoes, dirtying the floor.

When ARCHIE gets to the staff room and has a look at the coffee vending machine he notices straight away that the machine is not plugged in. ARCHIE takes a deep breath, plugs and plugs the machine in.

ARCHIE heads back to his mop and bucket and gets fresh water when he gets back to the main hallway the floor looks like it did this morning as though he had never touched it.  ARCHIE spends the next 30 minutes re-cleaning the floor just as he finishes the bell goes and all the students come out of their classes and head to their next lessons. As the students head off to their next lessons, ARCHIE remains steadfast in the middle of the hallway, as the students walks by ARCHIE starts twitching, rocking back and forth blocking out all the surrounding voices and focuses on the heavy footsteps realising what awaits him. ARCHIE is still in a delusional and vicious state as he is on the verge to ‘explode’, suddenly there is a distant voice “ARCHIE… ARCHIE… ARCHIE”, the voice loudens until ARCHIE is jolted back to full consciousness. ARCHIE pauses, now standing alone in the filthy hallway, ARCHIE slowly puts the walkie-talkie to his ear, takes a deep breath and answers in a calm manner as if nothing happened.

It is now lunchtime, and ARCHIE in the canteen in line. He has his eyes on the chocolate cake. The chocolate cake is quickly going, but it looks like there may just be enough. One student (MR. MUSCLE) is in front of ARCHIE, and only one cake remains. MR. MUSCLE takes the last piece, ARCHIE is next. ‘Is there anymore chocolate cake?’ ARCHIE asks. ‘No, sorry’, the dinner lady replies. ARCHIE now stares at the student with his chocolate cake, a look of anger.

Later that day, ARCHIE goes to the courtyard to take out the rubbish, as he arrives at the bin a student (MILLY MILKY) shouts to him “‘ey janitor, bin this for me “, MILLY MILKY throws what is left of her milkshake at ARCHIE. ARCHIE fails to catch the drink and is now covered in milkshake. MILLY MILKY has already turned and is walking away without knowing the mess he has created. ARCHIE stands motionless. As ARCHIE starts twitching and ruminates the voices of his potential victims.

Later that day after school has finished ARCHIE is cleaning a hallway. He is scrubbing it with a bar of soap.

It’s now 4 o’ clock, school is closed and its pitch black outside. Three students are seated within a classroom, BARRY SCOTT and MILLY MILKY are seated together, and MR. MUSCLE is seated alone. Each student aggravated the janitor earlier in the day. The door opens, the CRYSTAL CLEAN enters.

CRYSTAL CLEAN: ‘are you waiting for a detention?’

MR. MUSCLE: ‘yeah, no idea why though, if a teacher doesn’t show up in 5 minutes I’m leaving’. CRYSTAL CLEAN sits down. There is a moment of silence. BARRY SCOTT looks over to MR. MUSCLE ‘Hi I’m BARRY SCOTT, do you know why we’re here?’. MR. MUSCLE says ‘no my tutor just told me to come here at 4’o clock.

Meanwhile, the janitor is locking the gates.

The clock is now 16:10 in the classroom. MR. MUSCLE is just about to stand and leave when the door opens. The janitor steps through the door.

ARCHIE: ‘I am Janitor ARCHIE and am here for your punishment’

MILLY MILKY whispers to BARRY SCOTT: ‘I didn’t know janitors could give detentions’

ARCHIE: ‘Silence… now, you there come up to the front’ Points to Milky Milly. Milky Milly reluctantly approaches the front. ARCHIE pauses for a second, as the student stands beside him. He then draws a hammer and hits her over the head. A scream comes from CRYSTAL CLEAN, MR. MUSCLE and BARRY SCOTT look in horror.

ARCHIE: ‘Time to take out the real trash’

The students dart out of the room, as the janitor follows at walking pace.

The students appear to split up. BARRY SCOTT is the janitor’s first quarry. BARRY SCOTT sprints ahead, constantly looking over his shoulder at the janitor. The student turns a corner, into the hallway the janitor scrubbed with soap. BARRY SCOTT slips on the floor and his neck snaps. ARCHIE looks at the corpse and says ‘bang and the dirt is gone’.

The janitor can hear a banging sound. He knows this to be a student trying to force open the locked stairwell door. MR. MUSCLE is alone by the stairwell door. He stops trying to force the door and runs for the lift, frantically pressing the close door button. The janitor approaches the lift, but the doors close just in time. MR. MUSCLE in the lift presses the button marked ‘G’. However, the lift, instead of descending, begins to go up. The student is forced up to the roof. MR. MUSCLE runs out of the lift. ARCHIE is already up here, he runs out of hiding picking MR. MUSCLE up and hurling him off the roof shouting ‘you ate my god dam cake!’.

Whilst this is happening MILLY MILKY is by a lectern trying to use the phone, but there is no signal. She decides to leave the classroom and look for a way out. As she turns a corner the janitor jumps out with a damp cloth. This cloth is drenched with chloroform. The janitor grabs MILLY MILKY and covers her mouth with the dish cloth.

MILLY MILKY awakes tied to a chair in a basement. The corpse of CRYSTAL CLEAN lies in front of her. MILLY MILKY screams.

The bell rings for the new school day, ARCHIE is mopping the floor in his usual corridor once again.