1) A young girl Chloe receives a toy dog for Christmas and plays with it happily. 2) After Christmas, the toy is left alone while Chloe's family seems to forget about it. 3) Chloe's father Paul loses his job and in a rush abandons the toy by the side of the road without realizing. 4) The toy is later found and rescued by Beth, who cares for the matted and neglected toy, revealing it was actually a real abandoned dog named Pepper.

1. Script for Empty
SCENE 1
INT. CHLOE’S HOUSE, DINING ROOM - DAY
Fade in
“We Wish you a Merry Christmas” - Incompetech fades in
We are in the modest open plan kitchen/dining room area of CHLOE’s
house, there is little furniture, apart from an oak table and
chairs, the room is very tidy and the focus remains on the Christmas
tree in the centre of the room
CHLOE, a 10 year old girl who is dressed in jeans and a light
coloured cotton jumper, excitedly runs into the room, from the
right, towards the Christmas tree where she notices a large present
under the tree
CHLOE quickly grabs the present and inquisitively opens the present.
Smiling, she enthusiastically pulls out the TOY and happily embraces
it.
PAUL and JACQUI, the parents of CHLOE who are dressed in jeans and
wearing festive jumpers, are proudly smiling and PAUL has his arm
around JACQUI’s shoulder
CHLOE begins to play with the TOY, in an eager manner, in front of
the decorated Christmas tree
The text EMPTY appears on the screen
“We Wish you a Merry Christmas” - Incompetech fades out
Fade out
SCENE 2
INT. CHLOE’S HOUSE, DINING ROOM – DAY
Fade in
The furniture is in the same place with the Christmas tree still in
the centre of the room, but the Christmas tree, which is
undecorated, reveals Christmas is now over. The TOY, positioned to
the right of the Christmas tree, looks isolated and alone.
CHLOE slowly enters from the right, walking with a deflated stance
to the left, PAUL and JACQUI quickly follow behind, acting as though
in a rush without acknowledging the TOY’s presence at all.
Fade out
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2. Scene 3
INT. CHLOE’S HOUSE, OFFICE - NIGHT
Fade in
PAUL, now wearing a white long sleeved top and tracksuit trousers,
is sat at his desk in the office and is angrily holding a piece of
paper. As he reads the letter he begins to look frustrated as he
scratches his head in a discouraged manner. PAUL mimes the word
“Shit”
Paul continues to read the letter. The words ‘it is our greatest
regret to inform you…’ are shown on the screen and followed by the
words ‘4 weeks’ notice’ and then followed by ‘let go…’
PAUL’s fist begins to clench on the desk and rubs his hand on his
chin in a frustrated manner
Fade out
Scene 4
EXT. CHLOE’S HOUSE, GARDEN - DAY
Fade in
CHLOE, now dressed in an oversized white coat and denim jeans, is
eagerly walking towards her dad’s car (a silver Vauxhall Zafira),
with the toy in her arms, through her garden towards the drive.
CHLOE opens the car door and delicately places the TOY in the front
passenger seat of the car, she then leaves the TOY there and walks
away.
Fade out
Scene 5
Fade in
INT. PAUL’S CAR - DAY
PAUL hurriedly opens the car door, he is dressed in formal wear with
smart trousers, a shirt and a tie, and when he notices the TOY on
the passenger seat he smiles with a content look and then proceeds
to get into the car and pats the Toy dog on the head
PAUL sits in the driver’s seat and places his coat underneath the
TOY on the passenger seat
EXT. CHLOE’S HOUSE, GARDERN - DAY
The car begins to drive away
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3. Fade out
Scene 6
INT. PAUL’S CAR - DAY
Fade in
The car is driving along a quiet and rural road when PAUL’s phone
begins to ring so he begins to pull the car, in an irritated manner,
over to the side of the road with an anxious look on his face as he
rubs his hand over his face in a worried manner
EXT. BURELY, FOREST ROAD - DAY
PAUL quickly gets out of the car to answer his phone, maintaining
his irritated manner, and he grabs his coat without looking at the
TOY or the coat. But as he grabs the coat the TOY falls out and PAUL
doesn’t realise as he remains focused on the phone call. PAUL
quickly puts his coat on and is talking on the phone with a
frustrated attitude, and still doesn’t acknowledge the TOY on the
floor behind him
PAUL hurriedly gets back in the car without realising he has left
the TOY. The car pulls away leaving the TOY abandoned.
Fade out
Scene 7
EXT. BURLEY, FOREST ROAD - DAY
Fade in
The TOY is still abandoned on the side of the road and it will face
many different climates, it appears that it has been isolated for a
while. Then BETH’s (an 18 year old teenager dressed in jeans and a
green coat) feet appear to the side of the TOY and her hands begin
to nervously reach for the TOY. Apprehensively, she picks it up,
without revealing her face, she tightly hugs the TOY as she carries
it towards her car (a black Vauxhall Viva).
INT. BETH’S CAR - DAY
BETH carefully places the TOY in her car, she then decisively gets
into the car and drives away
Fade out
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4. Scene 8
INT. BETH’S HOUSE, UTILITY ROOM – NIGHT
Fade in
BETH enters her house through the back door, the room is very messy
with the worktop covered in cereal boxes and old plastic bags
BETH is holding the TOY, and quickly drops all her bags on the floor
and perfunctorily kicks off her shoes
INT. BETH’S HOUSE, HALLWAY - NIGHT
BETH, in the darkly lit hallway with minimum furnishings, carries
the TOY upstairs, handling it with maximum care, she quickly opens
the door into the bathroom and enters
INT. BETH’S HOUSE, BATHROOM – DAY
BETH daintily lowers the TOY into the bathtub and carefully picks up
the showerhead. She begins to cautiously wash the TOY in the
bathtub. Here, it is revealed to the audience that the TOY has been
PEPPER (the miniature schnauzer) the whole time. PEPPER’s appearance
is battered and mistreated and she looks very despondent as she is
being washed. BETH continues to wash PEPPER until the scene
finishes.
The sound of a dog whining begins to play, while a title appears
reading: Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas. Don’t treat them
like a gift.
Fade out
THE END.
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