Val is a gifted athlete and published author trying to make a difficult decision about her future when her identical twin sister Jen shows up to add more confusion to the mix in this short film.

VAL'S DUPLICITY

FADE IN A woman bites into her lower lip so hard that one of her "vampire" teeth pierces the skin causing blood to trickle down her lovely chin. INT. KITCHEN - DAY VAL, a gorgeous brunette in her mid-twenties with opaque eyes and a slender athletic frame, stands mesmerized before a sink filled with messy dishes. Tiny fruit-flies hover above the filth. Blood continues to flow until a tiny speck drips onto her blouse, snapping her to attention. She yanks a paper towel down from a rack mounted under the cabinet, wiping first at the wound, and then at her ruined shirt. Her efforts to clean the forthcoming stain go in vain and in frustration, she wads the piece into a ball, tossing it on top of the sink. Val sheds her top as she moves out of the kitchen. INT. BATHROOM - DAY Val, dressed in a plain white sports bra and shorts, stares in the mirror, inspecting the damage. It's a tiny hole, nothing more. She swipes a piece of toilet paper off a roll and tends to it much the way men do after nicking themselves when shaving. She SIGHS, examining her pretty face in the mirror before abruptly SPITTING at her own reflection. INT. BEDROOM - DAY Val hits the play button on the answering machine. KIP (Recording) Hey, Val. I know you said you needed some time, but we really need to talk. I know... well, just call me, kay? She lies on the bed and stares at the ceiling for some time. She looks over at her night stand at two books sitting under a lamp. One is THE BIBLE, the other a novel entitled RUNNING OUT ON THE OLYMPICS, BY VALERIE ROGERS. She reaches for The Bible, thumbing through the pages until she finds what she's looking for, and reads a few verses. She SLAPS it shut, returning it to its previous spot. Val rises to the edge of her bed, virtually forcing herself to do so, sweeping the room with her eyes. She is surrounded by dozens of TRACK MEDALS and TROPHIES, including a framed news clipping which proclaims ROGERS FAVORED IN ATHENS, with a picture of Val crossing the tape alone. She reaches into the drawer of the night stand, producing a blue cylindrical vibrator. She lies flat onto her back facing the ceiling once more. Closing her eyes, she UNFASTENS HER SHORTS and the device soon disappears between her legs. As it begins to WHIR, her facial expressions and body contort with pleasure while she gradually builds to a large CLIMAX. Her eyelids are squeezed tightly shut. Tears stream out the corners down her cheeks. She begins to SOB. JEN (Off Camera) Oh, get over yourself, Val. It's just masturbation. JEN and Val are identical twins, but they are decidedly different in manner and dress. While Val looks like the girl next door, Jen looks more like the kind of gal you would never take home to your mother. Val pulls it together quickly, returning the vibrator to its rightful place. She adjusts her clothing as she rises from the bed passing in front of Jen with a HUFF. JEN (cont'd) What? Off to confession now? INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Val enters angrily. VAL We're not Catholic. Jen follows on her heels, wearing a taunting grin. JEN (Astonished) We're not? Val takes a seat on a sofa, trying hard not to make eye contact with Jen. VAL Dad's married. That'd make it pretty hard for him to be priest. JEN Good Ol' Uncle Andy, on the other hand, would've made a helluva priest. Val shoots daggers from eye-sockets aimed directly at Jen. Jen raises her hands in acquiescence. JEN (cont'd) Sorry I brought it up. You really oughta have a better sense of humor. VAL Some things just aren't funny. Val looks away again, reaching for a magazine on the coffee table. VAL (cont'd) What are you doing here anyway? JEN I'm bored as hell. Thought I might talk you into goin' out tonight. VAL You know I don't drink. JEN Who said anything about drinking? Val rolls her eyes at her twin. VAL I don't think my boyfriend would approve. JEN Boyfriend? VAL Kip. JEN Really? Val closes the magazine. VAL And what precisely is that supposed to mean? JEN (Frustrated) Nothin'. Absolutely nothin'. Jen jerks her thumb back toward the hallway. JEN (cont'd) Can I use your bathroom. Initially Val nods her agreement. However, as soon as Jen disappears around the corner, a look of horror consumes Val's face. She jolts off the sofa in pursuit of Jen. VAL No! INT. BATHROOM But her objection comes too late as Jen already holds a pregnancy stick in her hand in front of the mirror. JEN Val, muh luv? What exactly does this line mean? Val jerks the item free from her sister's hand and tosses it into the trash before leaving again. Jen gives herself a sly grin through the mirror. INT. BEDROOM Jen enters to discover Val curled up in a fetal position on the bed. To her credit she says nothing. Instead, she walks over to the desk. Next to the printer she finds an untitled manuscript. Jen picks it up and thumbs through the pages, 247 in all, with the words THE END boldly printed on the last page. JEN You finished? VAL Yeah. I stayed up all weekend just to get it done. JEN Got a title? VAL No. JEN How 'bout Duplicity? Val rolls over and sits upright on the bed, looking surprised. JEN (cont'd) What? VAL That's not bad. JEN I know. Jen puts the manuscript back down on the desk and sits next to Val on the bed. JEN (cont'd) So whose is it? Val begins to tear up again. JEN (cont'd) I know it's not Kip's. VAL The sad truth is I simply don't know. JEN Well, let's see. There's Shawn and Daniel. VAL Oh my gosh! Val holds her hand to her stomach and charges out of the room. INT. BATHROOM Val is bent over the toilet PUKING her guts out. Jen leans against the door frame, looking on until she's done. Then she takes a wash rag from the cabinet. She soaks it in cold water before handing it down to Val who looks wasted. JEN You know, if you're gonna take on two guys at once, you might wanna rethink the whole birth control issue. Val yanks the rag from her and begins wiping her face. VAL It just happened. Besides, neither one of them came inside me. Jen nods, leaving her alone. Val struggles to her feet on her own, then begins brushing her teeth. INT. LIVING ROOM Val enters to find Jen sitting on her sofa. This time Val leans against the door frame as she resumes wiping her face. Jen just keeps on reading a magazine without looking her way. JEN So. It's probably not the dynamic duo. Where does that leave us? Val shrugs. VAL Valentin or Chris. JEN Or Jeremy. Val stops washing her face and tosses the rag on the bar. VAL I forgot about him. Jen looks up. JEN (Sarcastic) No kiddin'? Val crosses the room and sits next to Jen on the sofa. VAL He was very forgettable. Jen shrugs, returning her attention to the magazine. JEN Dad's gonna have a shit-fit. VAL Dad's not going to find out. JEN How do you expect to pull that one off? VAL How do you think? Jen looks her up and down. JEN Bullshit! You'd never do that. VAL I think I'd rather live with that kind of guilt rather than ruin Dad's ministry or my relationship with Kip. Jen LAUGHS. JEN What relationship? You told him you didn't want to have sex anymore. Val looks dismayed. JEN (cont'd) Let's face it, you've already blown it with him. He knows. VAL He couldn't possibly know I'm pregnant. JEN No. Of course not, but he certainly knows you've been steppin' out. Val looks very sad. JEN (cont'd) He's better off without you, and you know it. VAL He'll forgive me. JEN But will he forget? Val seems a loss for words. JEN (cont'd) What makes you think he's so different than all the other men in your life? Silence, then... VAL I just know he is. JEN Well, he ain't a pedophile like good ol' Uncle Andy, I'll give you that, and I'm sure he's a better lay... VAL You are so twisted. JEN So are you, thanks in no small part to good ol' Uncle Andy. VAL And Mr. Davis. Now it's Jen's turn to look befuddled. VAL (cont'd) I don't know what happened, but working on this book sure brought a lot of things back. JEN Repressed memories and all. You sure you're ready to handle all that? Val shrugs. JEN (cont'd) So what makes Kip so special? VAL All I know is that I need him. JEN Bullshit! You need me. And we don't need anybody else. Right? VAL He makes me happy. Val gets up to leave the room. VAL (cont'd) I need a bath. INT. BATHROOM Val turns on the water faucet, testing the temperature with her hand until she seems satisfied. INT. BEDROOM Jen lies down on the bed to the sound of RUNNING WATER in the distance. She calls out to Val in the other room. JEN You call this happy? VAL (Off Camera) Screw you! Val enters, pointing a bony finger at Jen. VAL (cont'd) You just don't get it, do you? JEN No. I don't. If you were so happy with him, why'd you stop fuckin' him? Val throws up her arms in despair, vying for the living room. JEN (cont'd) And start fuckin' every other guy you could get your hands on! INT. KITCHEN -DAY Val pours herself a glass of water from the tap. Jen enters wearing her wicked smile. JEN You know what I think? VAL I could care less what you think. JEN I think when you started having sex with Kip you saw a side of yourself you really didn't want to see. VAL (Sarcastic) Really? JEN Really, really. You didn't want him to see just how perverted you truly are. Val slams the glass down on the counter. VAL I am not like you! JEN Bullshit! You are me! The girls noses are inches apart. JEN (cont'd) Or haven't you figured that one out? Val backs away. Terrified. JEN (cont'd) We're one in the same. Have been ever since good ol' Uncle Andy. Val pulls a kitchen knife from a block on the counter and wields it in Jen's direction. Jen mocks her with LAUGHTER. VAL (Screaming) Get out of my head, bitch! Val looks down at the knife, then back up, and she finally realizes that nobody is standing there at all. Knife in hand, she proceeds in a zombie-like manner, peeling off her clothing one article at a time. INT. BEDROOM Virtually catatonic, Val continues undressing until she is completely nude. She walks up to the manuscript and scribbles the word DUPLICITY on the cover. Then she walks on toward the bathroom. INT. BATHROOM Val puts a toe inside the tub to test the water. Satisfied, she turns off the faucets. She enters the tub with the knife still in hand. She lies back, closing her eyes. Jen appears, sitting on the toilet next to the bathtub. JEN That's some book you wrote there, Val. It's gonna be a best-seller. Val looks up at Jen. VAL That's what I'm afraid of. JEN Why's that? VAL It hurt too much to just to write it, let alone share it with the world. JEN I suppose you have questions? Val nods. She ducks her head under the water for a brief moment, then comes back up for air. VAL So? Where do you fit in? JEN Good Ol' Uncle Andy. And pretty much every other boy we've slept with since. VAL And how many is that? JEN Fifty-ish. Val reacts negatively to the large number. JEN (cont'd) You only remember the guys since Kip. VAL Why is that? JEN I guess Kip is special after all. They hear a loud KNOCKING on the door. KIP (Off Camera) Let me in, Val! I know you're there. JEN Speak of the devil. Val takes the knife firmly in hand, pushing the edge of the blade down on her wrist. JEN (cont'd) Stop! Val hesitates. JEN (cont'd) Why are you doing this? VAL Because I don't know who I am. JEN Of course you do. VAL Then tell me? Who am I? JEN You know that guy at the door? Kip BANGS harder. KIP (Off Camera) I mean it, Val! Open up! Val somehow manages a smile. VAL Yeah. JEN When you're with him, that's you. When you write, that's you. When you go to church, that's you. That's the real you. VAL Then why do you even exist? JEN Because there's more to you than you care to admit. VAL Well, I remember everything now. And I don't want to remember. I never wanted to remember. JEN Then let me take over. I'll take care of us. VAL Why? Because you've been doing such a good job all these years? Jen SHATTERS the mirror with her fist. JEN Then git'cher ass outa that tub and let Kip in! VAL You're just trying to save your own ass now. Jen looks helplessly down at Val in the tub. VAL (cont'd) You'd just fuck him up, too. JEN I didn't fuck you up! I saved you from yourself. Kip continues POUNDING on the front door. KIP (Off Camera) Come on, Val! Let me in. I'm worried about you is all. JEN You fuckin' chickenshit! I kept you alive! I'd never take a knife to our veins! Jen drops to her knees beside the tub, begging. JEN (cont'd) Please! Don't do this. I promise to be good from now on. I'll let you call all the shots. Her pleas fall upon deaf ears. Val slices up her wrist with the edge of knife and the blood flows freely. She switches hands, repeating the process on the other arm. Then, she lets go of the blade, which floats to the bottom of the tub. JEN (cont'd) Why? Why are you killing us? Val looks at Jen for the last time. VAL You really want to know why? JEN Yeah. VAL I hate you. JEN You hate yourself. VAL Exactly. Jen disappears. Val closes her eyes. Kip HAMMERS on the door yet again. KIP (Off Camera) That's it! I'm going to get the manager to let me in! VAL (Whispered) Forgive me, Kip. JEN (Voice Over) He will. VAL You go to hell! JEN (Voice Over) I guess I'll be seein' you there. Val's breathing becomes shallow. VAL (Strained) Please forgive me, God. JEN (Voice Over) You think He will? Val's lifeless body slips under the water and she is gone. FADE OUT.