Day 31: Joan Polka Dot

Joan Polka Dot
by
Matt Zurbo

This is Joan.
(Small girl, black hair, white dress, white background, cutting circles out of cloth)

Most boys liked blue, and girls liked pink. Some girls liked blue, too. Some liked green or yellow. Joan, though, liked polka dots.

“It’s true,” she said. “I do.”
(Face down, sewing polka dots onto dress.)

“That’s not a colour!” other kids protested.
Joan mumbled; “I like polka dots anyway.”
(Joan sewing polka dots onto sheet covering wall, boy doing blue painting and pink dressed girl looking on.)

“Just pick a colour!” her teacher insisted.
“Why?” Joan asked.
“Because!” her teacher huffed.
“Okay… Polka dots.”
(Close-up side-on of teacher face looking down at Joan, who is casually painting polka dots on his face while he talks. Other kids in the background, faces painted in dots. One is crying)

“Why do you like polka dots so much,” the school principle enquired.
“Because life can be grey,” Joan whispered.
“Yes, and?” the principle said.
“Dull.”
“Yes.”
“Adults are all very serious…”
“So?”
“Polka dots are fun…”
(Teacher pointing to little Joan, principle standing over her, other two kids in background. Joan has head down, busy sewing polka dots onto principle’s legs and jacket.)

“So you’re the famous polka dot girl,” said the Mayor. “Don’t you know everybody has to have a favourite colour. It’s my job to give people what they want. What would you do if you were me?”
“Hm…” Joan thought.

“I’d have polka dot books and cars…”
(Cars and books covered in polka dots)

“Polka dot bikes.”
(People in polka dot clothes riding polka dot bikes while wearing polka dot helmets)

“Polka dot cats and dogs.”
(Self explanatory)

“Polka dot street crossings.”
(Kids using it like hopscotch)

“Watch out for that manhole!”
(Person not realising manhole is not another polka dot on the street and falling in it.)

“It wouldn’t take much. We could put our polka dots in the old town cannon, and…” Boom!
(Town, clouds, hill, covered in polka dots)

“That would also be fun.”
(Joan, surrounded by grey pants, looking up. Her dress is now covered in polka dots, cheeks, too. The floor is covered in polka dot cutouts.)

The Prime Minister leaned down. He liked Joan’s imagination a lot.
“But we need that cannon for if a monster attacks,” he said.
(Image of monster coming over hill, people screaming and running.)

“Nobody can stay angry when covered in polka dots,” Joan politely said.
(Monster covered in polka dots, looking embarrassed as people laugh)

“Maybe we could have a polka dot holiday,” the United Nations said. “Just for a day.”
(Joan now surrounded by suits, she is putting polka dots on their shoes)

“Outrageous!” people complained. “We have to have a holiday for the Military.” “And the farmers!” “And the Queen!”
(About four angry people in suits, raging over his and that, while Joan stands on tippy toes and puts polka dots on them)

“Why can’t we have a day to remind us to have fun?” Joan asked.
(Said statues covered in polka dots)

“Blue, pink – why can’t you just pick a colour!?” everybody raged.
“I did,” Joan said. “Polka dots!”
(Joan happily walking away from group of grey people, now covered in polka dots. Joan is dragging her polka-dot sheet, dress covered in polka dots, a few circular polka dots trailing out of her hair.)

“Come around if you want to have fun!”
(Parents using sheets as backdrops, to child’s polka dot table, with polka dot teapot, bunny dolls, and Joan sitting down to polka dot play lunch, around them are polka dots on pot plants, the budgie in the birdcage has polka dots on it, etc… a polka dot backyard.)

Bye!
(Joan, shyly hugging her little bunny doll in her polka dot backyard, smiling at the reader. Background one big multi-coloured dot)

The End