Feature screenplay · Reading sample
The February Man
9-page opening sample. Full screenplay available privately on request.
Sample text is displayed for reading only. No public PDF download is provided.
1
THE FEBRUARY MAN
Written by Eva Paunova
FADE IN:
EXT. PRIMARY SCHOOL - LATE AFTERNOON
A schoolyard disappearing under white. Empty swings. A
football half-buried near the fence. One classroom still
lit. At the far end — A SCHOOLBAG open in the snow.
A spelling book lies open, pages lifting in the wind. One
small BLUE WOOLLEN GLOVE. A POLICEMAN'S BOOT enters frame.
Stops. Beyond the bag:
FOOTPRINTS.
A child's. They lead to the rear fence, where adult prints
join them. Large. Clean tread. No running. No scuffle. The
two sets continue side by side.
POLICEMAN
Don't touch anything.
A younger officer freezes mid-step. Far off — A WOMAN
screams a boy's name. Snow swallows half of it. The first
policeman follows the prints. Through the gate. Down a
narrow lane.
The child's steps shorten; the adult's adjust. Once, the
prints nearly overlap. At the road: tyre marks. Nothing
else.
Empty road. A distant ENGINE somewhere beyond the trees.
Then gone. Snow fill the footprints.2
2.
EXT. PRIMARY SCHOOL - NIGHT
The boy's MOTHER stands by the fence, coat over
nightclothes. A blanket hangs unused around her shoulders.
An OFFICER speaks softly beside her.
OFFICER
Mrs. Reeve—
She keeps looking at the place where the two sets of tracks
met.
OFFICER (CONT'D)
We have men on every road out.
MRS. REEVE
He doesn't go with strangers.
The officer says nothing.
MRS. REEVE (CONT'D)
Michael doesn't go with strangers.
The officer looks at the prints. Almost gone now. MRS.
REEVE follows his eyes to them.
MRS. REEVE (CONT'D)
No.
The officer turns to her.
MRS. REEVE (CONT'D)
No.
Snow. Thicker now. Erasing everything.
A CLOCK TICKS.
Once. Twice. The ticking continues under —
SUPER: FEBRUARY 28, 1977
EXT. RURAL BUS STOP - DAWN
Blue morning. A narrow road between white fields. Nothing
moves. Beneath the bus shelter — MICHAEL REEVE, 9. Alone
beneath the shelter.
Canvas bag. Clean clothes. Fresh-cut hair. A GREY WOOLLEN3
3.
COAT — not the one he vanished in. No fear. No relief. Just
waiting. In the distance —
A CAR.
Another car. Sirens, still far. Michael watches the
opposite bend. Empty — but his eyes follow something moving
away. A shape in falling snow? Maybe.
The first police car brakes hard. MRS. REEVE is out before
it stops.
MRS. REEVE
Michael—
She drops to her knees and pulls him in. His arms hang at
his sides while she sobs into his coat.
MRS. REEVE (CONT'D)
Oh God. Oh God.
Michael keeps looking over her shoulder. At the empty bend.
MRS. REEVE (CONT'D)
Baby.
His eyes leave the road. One hand rises to his mother's
back — rests there. It never closes around her.
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERVIEW ROOM - MORNING
Fluorescent hum. A heater knocks in the wall. Michael sits
with the grey coat folded across his knees. DETECTIVE
HARROW, 40s, keeps his voice soft.
A CHILD WELFARE OFFICER sits aside. Through wired glass,
Michael's mother covers her mouth.
HARROW
Michael.
Michael looks at him.
HARROW (CONT'D)
I'm going to ask you some things
twice.
MICHAEL
Why?4
4.
HARROW
Because sometimes the second
answer is easier.
Michael considers this.
MICHAEL
For who?
Harrow almost smiles. Almost.
HARROW
For me, probably. Did the man hurt
you?
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
Did he hit you?
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
Touch you anywhere you didn't want
him to?
Michael looks at the welfare officer. Then back.
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
Were you tied?
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
Locked in a room?
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
Could you leave the room?5
5.
MICHAEL
Yes.
HARROW
Could you leave the house?
Michael says nothing. Harrow waits. The heater knocks
again.
HARROW (CONT'D)
Were you afraid?
Michael takes a moment.
MICHAEL
At first.
Harrow leans in.
HARROW
And after?
Michael looks through the glass. His mother is crying. He
looks away.
MICHAEL
No.
HARROW
What did he call you?
MICHAEL
Michael.
HARROW
He knew your name.
MICHAEL
Yes.
HARROW
Did you know his? Michael. You
aren't in trouble.
MICHAEL
I know.
HARROW
Then help me.6
6.
Michael's fingers tighten around the folded grey coat.
HARROW (CONT'D)
Who took you?
The fluorescent tube BUZZES. Michael looks through the
glass. His mother. The door. Then somewhere else entirely.
MICHAEL
Nobody.
Harrow sits back.
HARROW
Michael—
MICHAEL
Nobody took me.
THE FEBRUARY MAN
Then — A PHONE VIBRATING against wood.
SUPER: FEBRUARY 1, 2026
INT. MILO'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING
Controlled chaos. Kettle screaming. Toast burning. A
worksheet under a bowl. MILO VALE, 9, fights a sock while
his MOTHER, ELENA VALE, late 30s, searches a drawer.
ELENA
Blue folder.
MILO
What blue folder?
ELENA
The blue folder you told me was in
your bag.
MILO
Then it's in my bag.
ELENA
Your bag is empty.
MILO
That's worrying.7
7.
His father, DANIEL VALE, early 40s, enters wearing one
shoe, holding the other.
DANIEL
Keys.
ELENA
No.
DANIEL
That sounded personal.
ELENA
Because every morning you ask me
where your keys are like I adopted
you yesterday.
MILO
They're on the piano.
Daniel stops. Looks at Milo.
DANIEL
Why are my keys on the piano?
MILO
You put them there.
DANIEL
That sounds unlikely.
MILO
I watched you.
DANIEL
That sounds worse.
Milo grins. Daniel checks the time. The grin dies on his
face.
DANIEL (CONT'D)
Milo. Shoes. Now.
Too sharp. Milo stills. Daniel sees it.
DANIEL (CONT'D)
Hey.
Milo looks at him. Daniel crouches.8
8.
DANIEL (CONT'D)
That wasn't yours.
MILO
What wasn't?
DANIEL
My panic.
MILO
You shouted my name.
DANIEL
I did.
MILO
Very efficiently.
DANIEL
I'm gifted.
Milo almost smiles.
DANIEL (CONT'D)
I'm late. I made it yours. Sorry.
MILO
You're still late.
DANIEL
Catastrophically.
MILO
Mum says you exaggerate.
ELENA
I say many beautiful things.
She holds up the BLUE FOLDER.
ELENA (CONT'D)
Found it.
MILO
Where?
ELENA
Your bag.9
9.
MILO
That's worrying.
Daniel laughs. For half a second, this family is completely
ordinary.
EXT. PRIMARY SCHOOL - MORNING
SUNDAY. One wing is open for winter clubs. Cars. Children.
Grey churned snow. Daniel pulls over. Milo gets out.
DANIEL
Hey.
Milo leans back in. Daniel taps his forehead. Eye-roll —
then Milo allows the kiss.
MILO
Publicly humiliating.
DANIEL
Character building.
MILO
See you later.
DANIEL
Four fifteen.
Milo heads to school. At the gate, he turns and waves.
Daniel waves back, drives off.
Across the road — A MAN beneath a bare tree. Face lost in
distance. GREY COAT. Empty gloved hand.
A CITY BUS passes between us and him. When it clears — the
space beneath the tree is empty.
INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - AFTERNOON
A clock: 4:03. Sunday clubs letting out. Children pull on
coats. Lockers slam. Milo walks with another boy, FINN.
FINN
My mum says we're not allowed
behind the gym because some guy
sleeps there.End of sample.Full screenplay available on request.