"So You Want to Be a Wizard": a moment

[dianeduane]



INT. NITA'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT

She's hidden by the tented-up blankets on her bed.
The dim light welling out from underneath would make
you think she's doing the reading-by-flashlight thing.

              NITA (O.S.)
     I don't get why some spells call
     for these weird objects. The knotted
     string you were using. Batteries.
     Sugar cubes! Who needs this stuff
     when you have the Speech?

              KIT (V.O.)
     It's something to do with the way
     they bend space around them.

INT. NITA'S BEDROOM -- UNDER THE COVERS WITH HER -- NIGHT

She's reading the Manual by Fred's light, while using the
Manual to talk to Kit. We can see his face in a WINDOW
on the open page.

              KIT (V.O.)
     They're shortcuts. You could do it
     with words, but it'd take more
     energy.

              NITA
     Today took plenty. I feel like I
     had three gym classes in a row.

              KIT (V.O.)
     The Manual says it's like exercise.
     It takes time to get in shape.

             NITA
     I can't wait forever for my magical
     muscles to bulk up! I've got to get
     my pen back before Joanne loses
     interest and ditches it.

              KIT
     We'll start Operation Frustrated
     Bully first thing Monday morning.
     Did you look up Fred's "advisories?"

              NITA
     Yeah. They're other wizards! Older
     ones, here in town.

              NITA'S MOM
     Nita?

Nita's eyes go wide in reaction.

              NITA
       (whispers)
     Fred -- !

INT. NITA'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS

Her mother stands in the doorway.

              NITA'S MOM
     Who are you talking to? Don't say
     "nobody."

              NITA
     Uh, a kid I met today. A friend.

              NITA'S MOM
     Fine. Come out of there.

Nita's head pops out from under the covers.

              NITA'S MOM (CONT'D)
     You know the rules about phone
     calls after lights out.

Her mom holds her hand out. Nita grimaces, SIGHS
an exaggerated teenage sigh, reaches under the blankets
and hands her mother her CELLPHONE.

              NITA'S MOM (CONT'D)
     And on the subject of lights...

Nita reaches under the blankets: the light under them
GOES OUT. Nita pulls out a FLASHLIGHT and hands it to
her mother.

              NITA'S MOM (CONT'D)
     Thank you. Now get some sleep!

She goes out, shuts the door.

INT. NITA'S BEDROOM -- UNDER THE COVERS -- CONTINUOUS

Nita ducks under the blankets again.

              FRED
     Is it all right now?

              NITA
     Yeah.

Fred's light FADES UP. Nita opens her Manual
again: Kit looks out at her.

              KIT (V.O.)
     Everything okay?

              NITA
     Yeah, my mom thinks I've been
     disarmed. Where were we?

              KIT (V.O.)
     The third part of that repulsion
     spell. Let the seventh-graders
     deal with that.

              NITA
     Right. Fred, a little more light
     here?

              FRED
     Sure.

              KIT
     Don't think you're gonna hog him!
     I get him tomorrow night.

              NITA
     So I keep hearing. Now about the
     rest of these ingredients…




Etc...

Comments

[talon.livejournal.com]

*applauds*

I don't want to ask for more — but I do at the same time.

Hopefully, these tidbits will keep coming until the movie/tv show?

[agawa-jean.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds fantastic. I wish I had wizardly powers back in jr. high, it certainly would have made my school life easier, and well, the rest of it more interesting.

Good luck, and I hope this all works out!

[genmaicha.livejournal.com]

These tidbits are...well, delicious!

[dreagoddess.livejournal.com]

Aw, that's great! I love the part about "Mom thinks we're disarmed." Although seeing Nita's mom again makes me sniffle.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

LOVE it. Love it.

[selenialeopard.livejournal.com]

SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Loving this!

*waits for the movie*

[wolf-moonshadow.livejournal.com]

Hmmm… I don’t seem to recall Nita having a cellular in the original book. ;-) Of course, at the rate that computers and tech seem to evolve in the Wizard-verse, Nita’s sure to have an i-phone already. Now we just need to find a way to buy that little pocket of time that’ll zip us forward a few years so we can see the final product.

[replica.livejournal.com]

heheh. I wish I'd been able to do that at her age when caught reading/talking after lights out.


much love for these tidbits <3 Though in a way I'm also kind of looking forward to when they stop, because then that'll mean signed contract, right? :D I'll probably squee for days then.

And Penny. We mustn't forget Penny.

[bobcat2022.livejournal.com]

Before I clicked the cut, I was picturing some kind of Wonder Years-style voice-over narration for the movie. Which made me think of Michelle Trachtenberg as Nita, except she's too old at this point. She was so great as Harriet the Spy (the only book I considered to be on a par with SYWTBAW in fourth/fifth grade).

And Dawn, too! Who was like Fred! So it's all one big circle of too-bad-she's-trying-to-be-a-"grown-up"-actress-now.

[nightskywarlock.livejournal.com]

She needs a 'cone of silence' spell.

[ncdsbookworm.livejournal.com]

HAHA PERFECT!!! Oh Fred. :)

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

SQUEE!! *dances around happily* I really really really want to see this...

Although it is so weird to think of Nita being that little girl again; she's grown up a lot in the rest of the books and in my head. (She's only a year or two older than me!)

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

Good stuff! I like the window in the book page, and the light going out and her handing the flashlight to her mother. Neat phrasing -- the voice for Fred needs to be at once childlike and powerful, somehow.

[jaebird.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, that reminds me of how I used to keep spare flashlights under the blankets with me, just in case. :)

[tortoises.livejournal.com]

*drools*

This just keeps getting better. I used to get in so much trouble for reading with a torch under the covers.

[peachpastiche.livejournal.com]

I love you more and more every day.

[kayshapero]

Grin. Thanks for the peek!

[starkruzr.livejournal.com]

WIN.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

*sigh* brings back memories...

My husband and I both grew up on your series, and now we have introduced our 10-yr-old to them. I remember sneaking off during recess to read Deep Wizardry in junior high. I got in trouble for that, but it was worth it. For the first time, I had really connected with a character. I was bullied for a long time and wished that I had magic to protect myself with. Your books are dear to me for this reason: when I had no friends, I could count on Nita and Kit. I lived in your world far longer than in my own. The Wizard's Oath became sort of a guide for how I chose to live my life back then.
Later on, I would meet real witches, of both genders, and find my niche, but your message stayed with me. Your books inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and start living in this world.
So, quite honestly, you are my hero... (^_^)

(15 years later, being unconventional and bit geeky is actually perceived as a good thing... go figure.)

[handworn.livejournal.com]

Whoo, clever! Some serious forethought went into having a flashlight and cellphone under the covers just in case that happened. Quite creative.

[cee-m.livejournal.com]

It's funny to be a 27 year old and only have read these for the first time this year. Go 14 year old cousins!