FURNITURE DAY
Two boys play a dangerous game on furniture day.

“Kids do the darndest things”. They sure do. And often without a single iota of consideration to the consequences of their actions. Which means they’ll sometimes do things that are utterly bonkers. Why? Because they don’t know any better. Or don’t understand right from wrong. Or even worse, they may lack empathy and can’t conceptualize an emotion, such as remorse.

Which bring us to Allison Parker’s macabre short screenplay: ‘FURNITURE DAY’. A darkly humorous and twisted vignette about a set of young friends who like to play pranks, even if it means potentially putting their, or someone else’s life in danger.

Our story starts with Keith, Jackson, and Lily. Keith is 9, and his little sister Lily is 8. Their friend Jackson is the oldest at 10 years old – a “baby-faced bully”, who bosses this pack of mischievous miscreants.

The three are gathered outside on ‘Furniture Day’. A time of the year when garbage men come by and pick up and destroy broken-down furniture and appliances. Which means the sidewalk is full of discarded items likes tables, desks, old couches, and a grim-looking tumble dryer.

The three kids appear to be pulling sticks to determine who will hide and where, before the garbage collectors arrive.

Lilly giggles. She takes a stick.

LILY
Not it!

Keith pulls his fate. It’s long. All eyes on Jackson now.

JACKSON
This game’s rigged.

Jackson has unfortunately pulled the short stick, which means he will have to hide out in the dreaded drying machine: ‘dripping with nicotine stains and smothered in rat turds’.

Meanwhile, Keith’s sister, Lily seems to be getting cold feet.

Lily tugs on Keith’s shirt.

LILY
 I don’t wanna do it.

KEITH
Don’t be such a pussy, Lily.

Keith is more focused on the approaching garbage truck and doesn’t have time to accommodate his little sister’s concerns. So, they take their places. Keith hides under the cushions of a decaying couch. And Lily climbs inside a ‘tattered old leather ottoman’.

Soon they hear the hiss and squeal of the garbage truck stop next to where they’re all hiding. The drivers climb out and start to load the couch into the truck’s rear cruncher, when Keith pops out of the couch like a ‘jack-in-the-box’ and scares the living daylights out of the drivers. Despite the fact that the kids apparently play this same trick on them every year.

However, this year has a bit of a twist; Keith giddily watches the couch he was hiding in get crunched and smooshed into pulp, before being swallowed into the hungry truck’s deadly digestive track. And then when the drivers turn their attention to the tumble dryer, and no kid jumps out, Keith just watches and says nothing. His stoic reaction is disturbing at best, evil at worst, as he watches the truck eat up the dryer with presumably Jackson inside it.

But that’s when the trick gets flipped on Keith. As he sees Jackson emerge from the corroded ottoman. Not his sister.

KEITH
Where’s Lily?!

JACKSON
We switched. Said she was tired of you
calling her a little pussy.

Suffice to say, when Keith realizes his nefarious trick has backfired in the most tragic way possible, he is crestfallen. Which some may say is karma. Or, some might say there’s another twist in store.

Yes, kids do the darndest things. And not all of them are nice. Sometimes, downright vile. Which is what make Alison Parker’s FURNITURE DAY wholly unique and brave. As it dares to lean into a very uncomfortable, and dark narrative that will leave the audience feeling uneasy. Which is an impressive feat, when considering it is a micro-short. So, if you are a newish filmmaker seeking something different, yet bold, don’t hesitate to check out this fully furnished fiendish fable.