Day 19: Blat

Blat
by
Matt Zurbo

Lanky Lou’s Mum and Dad were wrestlers.
(Dad overweight with stubble, hairy shoulders and orange body suit with red love heart on chest)

Lou had seven brothers and two sisters.
(one permanently has an oversized wrestling mask on)

One day Lou decided wrestling over the last cupcake wasn’t enough.
“What are yas, mad?” his brothers and sisters barked. “Wrestling’s as fun as it gets!”

But Lou was determined. Determined! Even if he didn’t know what he was determined about!

He watched his Mum and Dad practice. (Mum winning) They always practiced… and practiced.
“I don’t want to wrestle, Dad,” Lou confessed.

His Dad smiled, before replying: “So what? Most people don’t. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it well…”

Lou saved up, brought a trumpet, and went…

BLAT!
(Brothers and sisters rolling around, laughing at Lou and his trumpet.)

But Lou kept at it,

And at it…

And at it…

Lou knew he was missing out on all sorts of stuff…
(Siblings playing, swimming, footy, billycarts, fishing, while he practices playing trumpet under a tree)

Practicing all the time made Lou a little lonely. He felt different to his brothers and sisters somehow.
(Lou, with trumpet, sitting on a branch, watching them wrestle)

But, eventually, blat turned to… Toot, toot, zippity-zoot!
(Everybody WOW! Dancing, amazed at Mum’s birthday, one candle on the cake)

Lou got to play at school.
(Everybody dancing at cafeteria, on tables, etc… one bully patting him on the back, smiling.)

He even led his Dad out!
(Lou playing trumpet, while walking down wrestling isle in front of Dad, who is in full wrestling costume, including cape and orange mask with black rims. There are only a handful of people in the seats. But they are dancing.)

Lou’s sister, Lilah, would hear him practicing all night! It drove her nuts!

But she saw how everybody admired him for being good at something, and said to herself… “I’m going to be the best ping-pong player on Earth!”
(Lilah on table with other half up, missing an easy shot)

And she missed parties, and movies and all sorts of fun…
(Lilah, face determined, tongue out, playing someone else, one person watching)

She still enjoyed goofing off, but would look at her friends differently. “How do they not want to be really good at something?” she would think.

It was only when she got to play on the BIG table at a tournament, ZOIP! She felt like she belonged somewhere.
(Lilah and her opponent walking with their paddles, into a small stand that can fit 20 people, and has a table in the middle)

Oscar listened to Lilah practicing her ping-pong so much he developed a twitch!

But it gave him an idea! “What if I could be really, really good at something. How much fun would it be, just to try?”
(Oscar standing there with maths book, watching Lilah using three brothers at other side of table to practice.)

And before long…
(Solving complex maths on board, baffling teacher)

Soon, Lou’s brothers and sisters were doing all sorts of stuff!
(Same energy as wrestling at start, but each doing something of their own. Trumpet, ping-pong, math, science, running, kite flying, acrobat, overalls on, building a billycart, wrestling mask kid practicing proper wrestling, etc… All, except little, pig-tailed Polly)

Except little Polly. (She watched Thommy on the skateboard)
“Well, I want to do something great, I just don’t know what!”

“It’s a problem…” Lou said. All the brothers and sisters had a good think.
(Siblings in their various kits sitting and thinking, while on hill above them Polly stands alone, shoulders slumped, Lou nearby, playing a sad song.)

(Polly sitting in bed, pouting, looking down, as the sounds of trumpets and ping-pong and this and that come through her wall.)

“I got it!” Lilah shouted, then whispered in Polly’s ear.

After that, Polly raced around, helping everybody else achieve their dreams.
(image to suit.)

So that one day, when a dream finally came to her…
(Light bulb above Polly’s head, as she thinks of idea)

She would have the energy to make it work!
(Polly standing in front of circus tent flap, Lou, acrobat and juggling siblings behind her. She is chest out, handing an agent’s card to the circus people, who are offering over cash.)

“How cool is our family,” said Lou’s Dad.
“The most interesting on the block,” said his Mum.
(All brothers and sisters, in their kit/with their trumpets and kites and whatnot, wrestling around Mum and Dad)

“Thanks , Lou!” said his Dad.
(Final image of Lou, pinned under a pile of arms and legs, smiling as he blows a BLAT from his trumpet!)

The End.