SCENE OPENS with a kind man, Mr. Adams, sitting at a coffee table while Mandy (Gia Derza) walks over to him with a cup of coffee. Mandy is smiling, though the smile is thin and doesn’t reach her dull eyes. Her movements are slow, as though it takes a great amount of effort to do anything.
‘Here’s your coffee,’ she says to her teacher. Mr. Adams thanks her as she slowly sits down opposite of him. It looks like she’s in a daze, and Mr. Adams is visibly concerned about this. Once she’s seated, he thanks her for letting him in. He doesn’t visit his students in their homes like this very often — in fact, this is the first time he’s done it! — but he just wanted to check up on Mandy.
‘Oh, why, sir?’ Mandy asks, her voice still faint and faraway. Mr. Adams clears his throat and says that she’s been missing a lot of classes lately. He’s concerned about her since he knows what it’s like to lose someone, he’s lost his mother, too. He just wants her to know there’s help available whenever she needs it.
Mandy says she’s fine, she has her step-brother, Ryan (Seth Gamble), looking after her now. At the mention of his name, Mr. Adams looks more concerned, saying he wants to talk to her about that. Is everything good between them?
The camera focuses on Mandy’s face, her smile fake and eyes glazed over. ‘Yeah, of course, everything’s fine.’
