INT. KITCHEN - DAY
MAX is loading dishes into the dishwasher while his MOTHER rinses them in the sink. MAX is an early teen (9-11). MOTHER is in her late thirties.
MAX
(moaning)
Do we have to go to Scotland for our summer holiday?
MOTHER
Why not? It’ll be fun.
MAX
But all my friends are going to cool places like Australia or the Seychelles.
MOTHER
Well we’re going to Scotland.
MAX
Will I have to wear a kilt?
MOTHER
No. Anyway Scottish people only wear those on special occasions.
MAX
Will I have to eat porridge all the time?
MOTHER
No. Not everyone eats porridge in Scotland.
MAX
Well I don’t want to go. Scotland sucks!
His mother stops rinsing and puts her hand on Max’s shoulder
MOTHER
Now Max. You know it’s been difficult since your Father died.
I need a break. Some peace and quiet. Do you understand?
MAX
I suppose so. But Dad would never have taken us to Scotland.
Max plugs in his earbuds to cut his mother out.
EXT. STATION - NIGHT
Max and his mother are boarding the night sleeper to Scotland.
INT. SLEEPER COMPARTMENT - DAY
Mother sits on her lower bunk watching the Scottish lowland scenery pass by through the window.
Max wakes up and leans over his upper bunk.
MAX
Where are we Mum?
MOTHER
We’re in Scotland.
MAX
It looks like the moon.
Max goes back to sleep.
EXT. MAINLAND FERRY PORT - DAY
Max and his Mother drag their wheelies and board a ferry to the Isles.
EXT. FERRY STERN - DAY
Max and his Mother are at the stern of the ferry looking at the wake and the flock of seagulls whirling above it with the mainland in the distance.
EXT. ISLAND FERRY PORT - DAY
Max and his Mother disembark the ferry and walk to the only battered old taxi waiting at the dock.
INT. TAXI - DAY
MCLEOD is driving the taxi with Max and his mother in the back. He’s fortyish, lean and speaks his English with a sing-song Gaelic accent. Think Duncan Macrae in Tunes of Glory.
MCLEOD
So you’ll be taking the croft for a month?
MOTHER
Yes.
MCLEOD
You know there is no much to do here except walk and fish?
MAX
Don’t worry. We know.
MOTHER
I just want some peace and quiet.
MCLEOD
Well that you’ll get. There’s no much happens here and no-one around for miles.
They pass a fenced off RAF base with lots of concrete buildings, giant aerials and mobile dishes next to a big white dome-like structure.
MAX
What’s that place?
MCLEOD
Och that’s just the airbase.
MOTHER
What do they do there?
MCLEOD
Well I don’t rightly know.
They keep it secret.
Something to do with monitoring air traffic and suchlike.
MAX
A secret base. Cool!
EXT. CROFT - DAY
McLeod’s taxi pulls up at an isolated croft just up from a small loch.
MCLEOD
Here we are.
They all get out of the taxi and McLeod unloads their luggage.
MCLEOD
You’ll find all the supplies you ordered on the kitchen table.
He hands Mother a key and a business card.
MCLEOD
That’s the house key and my card.
Just call if you need me to take you anywhere.
MOTHER
There’s a mobile signal here?
MCLEOD
Och yes. One of the benefits of having the military nearby.
MAX
And there’s broadband in the cottage right?
MCLEOD
No.
MAX
But there’s a mall nearby with an internet cafe?
MCLEOD
No. Only a small supermarket on the base.
MAX
(turns to mother)
Mum! What am I going to do for a month?
MCLEOD
Well now. You could go on some fine rambles in the heather. There’s lots of wildlife around about. And you can fish and row on the loch.
MOTHER
That’s an idea. You can learn to row. Then you can try for the school rowing team next term.
MAX
Right. So who is going to teach me to row?
MCLEOD
I’ll leave that to my daughter. Maggie. She’s a fine rower.
That’s her boat you can see over on the shore of the loch.
McLeod gets back in his car and drives off.
MAX
This is just great. No malls, no internet and I have to hang out with a girl.
Max and his mother grab their wheelies and head for the croft.
MONTAGE:
Max out rambling in the heather.
Max looking down on the croft and loch from a nearby hill.
Max sitting on the upturned boat by the loch skimming stones onto the water.
INT. CROFT - DAY
Max and his mother are having lunch in the kitchen.
MAX
We’ve only been here a week and I’m bored. Can’t we go home?
MOTHER
Don’t be so selfish Max.
This is helping me a lot.
I even started painting again.
And anyway you look much better for being out in the fresh air and getting plenty of sleep.
MAX
Yeah. Fresh air and sleep. I lead such an exciting life. As if!
MOTHER
It’s a shame we never saw McLeod’s daughter Maggie.
MAX
Right. So much for learning to row.
INT. CROFT - NIGHT
Max can’t sleep so he gets up, throws on some clothes and slips out into the moonlight to make his way down to the shore of the loch.
EXT. LOCH SHORE - NIGHT
Max sits on the boat on the shore and skims some stones. He freezes when he hears something behind him.
He turns slowly to face a girl, MAGGIE. She’s about his age with red hair in pigtails, freckles and round gold rimmed glasses.
MAX
Who are you?
MAGGIE
I’m Maggie. Maggie McLeod.
MAX
But what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.
MAGGIE
Oh I’m often here. I like to be out and about at night. It suits me.
By the way. That’s my boat you’re sitting on.
Maggie sits down on the boat beside him.
MAX
But why come to the loch?
MAGGIE
I’m investigating something.
MAX
What do you mean? Investigating?
MAGGIE
There’s something in the loch.
MAX
(laughing)
The Loch Ness monster?
MAGGIE
No I don’t think it’s a monster. Or a whale. In fact I don’t think it’s anything natural.
MAX
Well what is it then?
MAGGIE
Something to do with the base. Something military. Maybe a secret weapon, hidden underwater, here in the loch.
MAX
That sounds crazy.
Maggie gets up and starts to walk away. She stops and faces Max.
MAGGIE
Crazy or not. I’ll be here tomorrow night. Same time. To do some more investigating.
Maggie runs off into the night.
INT. CROFT - DAY
Max and his mother are having breakfast.
MOTHER
You’re very quiet Max.
MAX
I was thinking.
MOTHER
Well that makes a change.
MAX
What do you reckon they do at that secret base?
MOTHER
Like Mr. McLeod said. It’s probably a listening station.
They monitor the airwaves for possible threats.
MAX
What like from terrorists?
MOTHER
Yes. That kind of thing.
MAX
So you don’t think they are developing secret weapons?
MOTHER
Secret weapons? Whatever gave you that idea?
EXT. CROFT - NIGHT
Max slips out of the croft and heads for the loch.
EXT. LOCH SHORE - NIGHT
Maggie is already sat on her boat when Max arrives.
MAGGIE
So there you are.
Let’s do some investigating.
Help me with the boat.
They flip the boat over, put the oars in and drag it to the water.
Maggie gets on board and sets up the oars. Max gives the boat a shove and jumps in.
Maggie rows until they reach the middle of the loch then she stops and stows the oars on board.
MAX
What are we doing?
MAGGIE
Listen.
There is a very faint hum coming from somewhere.
MAX
It’s coming from underneath us.
They both lean over opposite sides of the boat and stare into the water.
MAGGIE
I’ve heard this humming before. Can you see anything?
MAX
No. The water is too dark.
The hum begins to increase in volume.
Maggie starts to fit the oars but as she does, the surface of the water begins to vibrate and they both have to grab the sides of the boat.
As the water begins churn and bubble up, their boat is lifted off the surface by a massive spaceship like a giant frisbee rising up slowly beneath them.
Max and Maggie are terrified and huddle together in the boat as the ship emerges from the water and begins to ascend slowly into the air with their boat balanced on top.
Suddenly the ship stops. Still humming as it hovers motionless in the air just above the loch.
A hatch slides open silently. A robot device flies out, hovers above the children and emits a ray that causes them to pass out.
The robot emits another ray that picks up the children and hovers them over and into the hatch.
Then the robot rays their empty boat. It rises vertically from the top of the ship, hovers horizontally until it is clear of the ship, and drops back onto the loch.
The robot flies into the hatch, the hatch slides shut and the ship zooms off into space.
INT. CROFT - DAY
Mother is laying the breakfast table.
MOTHER
Max! Max! It’s time to get up.
There’s no response so she goes to his bedroom. No Max.
She runs outside.
MOTHER
Max! Max! Where are you?
If this is a game stop it now!
She goes back to the kitchen, finds McLeod’s card and calls him.
MOTHER
Mr McLeod. It’s Max’s mum.
I can’t find Max, he’s disappeared.
Can you come over?
Thank you. See you soon.
EXT. CROFT - DAY
Mother is waiting outside the croft as Mcleod’s taxi pulls up.
He jumps out.
MCLEOD
I’ve something to tell you.
MOTHER
About Max?
MCLEOD
No. About my Maggie.
She’s also missing.
MOTHER
Oh my God. Both of them.
MCLEOD
Let’s go down to the loch and see what we can find.
EXT. LOCH SHORE - DAY
McLeod and mother are standing on the shore. Maggie’s boat is still floating in the middle of the loch with the oars dangling.
MCLEOD
You see that boat.
MOTHER
Yes.
MCLEOD
That’s Maggie’s boat.
So she must have been out on it last night.
MOTHER
Do you think Max was with her?
MCLEOD
Maybe.
MOTHER
But what were they doing out on the loch at night?
MCLEOD
I know Maggie goes there. She likes to row at night.
MOTHER
And you let her?
MCLEOD
She’s no a child and she has a strong will of her own.
MOTHER
Oh my God! They could have drowned.
MCLEOD
(calmly)
I don’t think so. Maggie is an excellent swimmer.
Can Max swim?
MOTHER
Yes.
MCLEOD
Then drowning seems unlikely.
Even if they fell out of the boat it’s no far to swim to the shore.
MOTHER
We need to call the police.
MCLEOD
The only police on the island are the military police at the base.
MOTHER
So let’s go to the base. Now.
INT. BASE CO’S OFFICE - DAY
Mother and McLeod are sat in front of Wing Commander HARRIS in his office.
HARRIS
I’m very sorry to hear your children are missing.
Did they know each other?
MOTHER
As far as I know Max and Maggie had never met.
HARRIS
Maybe they met up by accident and then ran off together.
You know, for a prank?
MCLEOD
Maggie’s no the running off kind.
MOTHER
And anyway. Where would they run off to?
HARRIS
Yes I see your point.
OK. I‘ll brief my military police and get them on the case.
Please don’t worry.
We’ll send out a search party.
If they are on the island then we’ll find them.
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
Maggie and Max are securely strapped into seats in front of a vast screen displaying the star-scape the ship is whizzing through.
Behind them is the robotic device hovering in the air.
Max and Maggie wake up and the screen switches to display a woman dressed in a uniform, the COMMANDER.
COMMANDER
Good morning.
MAX
Where are we?
COMMANDER
You are on the bridge of a spaceship.
MAX
And who are you?
COMMANDER
I am the commander of the ship.
MAGGIE
Are you an alien?
COMMANDER
Yes. I suppose you could call me that.
MAX
But you look just like us. Where are you from?
COMMANDER
I am from the future.
MAGGIE
And you talk like us.
COMMANDER
Yes. It sounds like I do.
In fact, I speak a very different language from you but our technology can translate our language into any other language.
Would you like to hear my language?
MAX
Sure.
The Commander emits something that sounds like a high speed series of beeps and blips.
MAGGIE
What did you say?
COMMANDER
I just read you the whole of your book called the Bible.
MAX
The whole of the Bible?
In a few seconds!
That’s impossible.
COMMANDER
Our language is very efficient.
Would you like me to send you a message to your phone?
MAX
I left it at the croft.
COMMANDER
That’s no problem. I have located it and sent you a message.
Please keep that message when you return. It’s very special.
I will explain why later.
MAGGIE
It must sound strange when you are all talking to each other?
COMMANDER
Actually we normally communicate between ourselves using thought-waves.
MAGGIE
You mean like brain-waves?
COMMANDER
Yes. Telepathy. Our brains have adapted to communicate directly with each other.
This also means that in our world there is no such thing as a secret as we all know what each other is thinking.
MAGGIE
No secrets. Is that what they call transparency?
MAX
So you know what I’m thinking right now?
COMMANDER
No. Because your brain is still primitive compared to ours.
MAX
Well that’s a relief!
MAGGIE
But where are you? Are you on the ship somewhere?
COMMANDER
I am a long way from you.
We do not normally travel with our ships.
MAX
So the ship has no pilot?
COMMANDER
Correct.
We control our shops remotely using a very powerful onboard computer and with the help of robots.
The robot zooms into view and then zooms away.
MAGGIE
So why was your ship in the loch?
COMMANDER
We had an unexpected malfunction that we had to fix. So we hid the ship underwater while we fixed it.
MAX
What are you going to do with us?
COMMANDER
Don’t worry. You will come to no harm.
Out whole civilization is based on the concept of ‘Do no harm’.
But you will have to stay on the ship for now as it is programmed to return to one of our star bases for repair.
Once it is repaired we can return you back to where you came from.
MAGGIE
How long will that take?
COMMANDER
Not long. Our ships travel very fast. You will be back home soon.
But now we are going to put you back to sleep.
Don’t worry, you won’t feel anything.
Please follow the robot.
The children get up from the seats and follow the robot off the bridge.
INT. SHIP POD ROOM - NIGHT
Max and Maggie lay in two transparent life pods as the robot hovers above.
The robot emits a ray that to put each of the children to sleep.
Then it causes the pod lids to seal shut. The pod monitors are activated and the lights in the pod room dimmed.
The robot zooms away.
INT. CROFT - DAY
Mother and McLeod are having some tea at the kitchen table.
Mother is holding a mobile phone.
MOTHER
Max left his mobile behind so he can’t even call me!
Suddenly the phone buzzes with a text message notification.
MOTHER
Maybe that’s him calling!
She plays the message on speaker. A short burst of beeps and blips.
They both look at each other, puzzled.
MCLEOD
I’ve never heard anything like that before.
We need to get back to the base to see if they can understand it.
INT. BASE RADIO ROOM - DAY
Mother, Mcleod, Harris and the technician SMITH are in a room filled with sophisticated technical equipment.
HARRIS
Smith. Let’s hear it again.
Smith plays the text message.
SMITH
It sound like one of those compressed message formats that the special forces use to send secret communications.
HARRIS
Do you think it’s one of ours?
SMITH
Not sure Sir. Could be a Russian format or a Chinese version. Hard to say.
HARRIS
Well get onto it. We need to know if this is anything to do with our missing children.
SMITH
I’ll do my best.
HARRIS
(to Mother and McLeod)
Come back tomorrow and I’ll update you on progress.
MONTAGE:
The children still asleep in their pods onboard the ship.
Smith with his headphones on fiddling with a receiver and trying to decipher the message.
INT. OFFICE - DAY
Mother and McLeod face Harris at his desk.
HARRIS
I’m sorry to tell you this but my men have searched everywhere and there is no sign of your children.
We’re still trying to decipher that text message
MOTHER
But they can’t have left the island?
HARRIS
I don’t believe they could have left without anyone knowing.
MCLEOD
I already checked with the ferry company and none of the local fishermen have reported seeing anything unusual.
MOTHER
You aren’t hiding anything from us?
HARRIS
Meaning?
MOTHER
Maybe the children saw something they shouldn’t have here on the base and you caught them?
HARRIS
You think they may have seen some secret weapon and we have kidnapped them?
MCLEOD
Well it’s possible. We really have no idea what you do here.
HARRIS
This is only a listening station. It is not some kind of secret warfare centre.
And anyway the thought that we would kidnap your children and not tell you is ridiculous.
Look. I understand you are worried.
But they are not on the base.
They must be hiding somewhere on the island.
MOTHER
It’s almost as if they have been abducted by aliens.
HARRIS
Trust me. If there were any aliens around here our sophisticated tracking equipment would have spotted them!
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
The ship’s screen shows the dusty surface of a planet that seems totally lifeless.
A massive entrance opens in the ground and another spaceship slowly makes its way out. It hovers for a moment before disappearing rapidly into space in a blinding flash.
Our spaceship slowly approaches the hatch and descends in.
INT. SHIP POD ROOM - NIGHT
The Commander is onboard with the robot hovering by the life pods.
The robot causes the pod lids to open and wakes Max and Maggie with a ray.
They wake up and sit on the edge of their pods.
MAX
Where are we?
COMMANDER
Welcome to our repair station.
Once the ship is repaired we will take you back to Earth.
By the way, what are your names?
MAGGIE
I’m Maggie.
MAX
And I’m Max.
COMMANDER
OK. Maggie and Max. Let’s go to the bridge and see exactly where we are.
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
The ship’s screen shows the interior of a massive hangar with multiple parked spaceships and robots zooming around in the air between them.
COMMANDER
Our ships come in and out of here for repairs all the time.
See that one with all the dents in it?
One of the ships has an obviously pock-marked hull.
MAX
How did that happen?
COMMANDER
It probably got hit by an unexpected asteroid shower.
It happens in space.
MAGGIE
But how do your ships fly. They have no propellors or jets?
COMMANDER
That’s a very good question Maggie.
The secret is magnetism.
MAX
But I don’t see any magnets?
COMMANDER
No Max, you don’t.
But powerful electro-magnets are built into all the ships.
They run on solar power and they use the invisible magnetic waves in space to enable our ships to hover and move around.
And to jump through space.
MAGGIE
What do you mean ... jump?
COMMANDER
It means to move very long distances, very fast.
So if you were watching one of our ships it would appear to jump from one spot to another in an instant.
Let me show you a simulation.
The screen switches to show a ship that hovers, spins on its axis, moves vertically and horizontally and then jumps so it is just a dot far away.
MAX
Wow. That is wicked!
COMMANDER
By the way. Are you hungry?
MAGGIE
I’m starving.
COMMANDER
What would you like to eat?
MAGGIE
Porridge and tea.
MAX
Bacon and eggs and a latte with a vanilla shot.
COMMANDER
The robot will make it for you.
Sit down so you can eat.
Max and Maggie sit in the seats and a tray hovers onto their laps with a plate and spoon, a big mug and a bowl.
The bowl contains some kind of sticky green glop.
MAX
Yuk! Where’s the bacon and eggs?
MAGGIE
Where’s the porridge and tea?
COMMANDER
Just try it.
Max and Maggie tentatively put a bit of glop on their spoons and into their mouths.
MAX
Wow. That’s delicious! Bacons, eggs and a latte in a single spoon!
MAGGIE
That’s better than my porridge at home! And no pot to clean!
COMMANDER
In our world, our food tells your brain what to think rather than the other way around.
So everything always tastes great!
INT. CROFT - DAY
Mother and McLeod are sat at the kitchen table drinking tea.
MOTHER
Wherever Max and Maggie are, I wonder how they are managing to feed themselves?
Max has no idea how to look after himself without a fast-food outlet nearby.
MCLEOD
Maggie knows how to fish and to trap game but all her equipment is at home.
Mother’s phone rings. She stands up and paces around the table.
MOTHER
Hullo?
Hullo Wing Commander Harris. Any news?
Uh-Huh.
OK.
Please keep in touch.
Mother puts the phone down.
MOTHER
They can’t figure out what that message is but they don’t think it’s anything to do with the children.
MCLEOD
And we’ve no had any kind of note from anyone so they can’t have been kidnapped.
MOTHER
Oh Mr McLeod. Where are they?
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
Max and Maggie are back in the seats in front of the screen on the bridge. The screen is black.
There’s some static and the Commander is displayed.
COMMANDER
We need to test your ship after the repairs.
Would you like to go on a short trip to another planet?
MAX
You bet!
MAGGIE
But will it be a deserted dust bowl like this one?
COMMANDER
Just wait and see. But first we need to strap you in.
The robot overhead emits a ray and the massive retainers come down over Maggie and Max to secure them like on a theme park ride.
The screen changes to a starscape flashing by until they approach a planet that looks blue just like the earth.
The ship zooms through a landscape of dense jungles, wide savannas, volcanos and giant waterfalls. Occasionally the ship stops and hovers over a particular spot to examine it from different angles, including upside down.
The landscape is populated by all kinds of different dinosaur creatures some of which fly by. At one point the ship dives straight into an ocean to reveal shoals of strange fish and giant aqua creatures.
Then the ship leaves the planet as quickly as it arrived, returning to the repair base.
The Commander appears on the screen.
COMMANDER
So did you enjoy your trip?
MAX
It was like being in a computer game!
MAGGIE
What planet was that? It looked so strange.
COMMANDER
It was your Earth. A long time ago.
MAGGIE
Earth? You mean in the dinosaur age?
COMMANDER
Correct.
MAX
Cool! If only we had our mobiles with us to take some snaps.
COMMANDER
Unfortunately that wouldn’t work.
MAGGIE
Why not?
COMMANDER
Because you can’t take pictures of the past or the future in your present. They just come out blank.
The robot hovers over and unstraps them.
COMMANDER
Now it’s time for you to go home. Follow the robot to your pods and it will tuck you in.
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
The screen shows a starscape zooming by as the ship travels back to earth.
INT. SPACESHIP BRIDGE - NIGHT
Maggie and Max are seated back on the bridge with the Commander on screen.
COMMANDER
How are you feeling?
MAX
Sleepy.
MAGGIE
Ready to go home.
COMMANDER
I woke you a little early so you could see this.
The screen switches to show them passing the moon with the earth in the distance. As the ship draws closer to the earth it begins to fill the screen with its distinctive blue colour and cloudy atmosphere.
The ship passes by the ISS.
MAGGIE
Was that the International Space Station?
COMMANDER
Quite right Maggie.
MAX
But can’t they see us?
COMMANDER
No Max. Because we are travelling in a time zone that is slightly ahead of theirs so they have no idea we are here.
And when they reach that time zone we will be gone.
MAX
A bit like that book I read once.
MAGGIE
You mean The Time Machine by H.G Wells?
MAX
Yes that’s it.
COMMANDER
We are familiar with that book.
His version of a time machine was rather crude but the idea was good.
MAX
So you can go back and forward in time. Wow!
COMMANDER
Yes. It’s very unusual for us to operate in the present as that exposes our ships to discovery.
MAGGIE
But you must have been in the present when you picked us up?
COMMANDER
Yes Maggie. You are right.
On the screen the Scottish landscape is becoming clearer as the ship slowly approaches the loch in the moonlight.
Maggie’s boat is still floating in the middle of the loch.
MAGGIE
There’s my boat!
COMMANDER
Yes. It’s time to return you to where and when we picked you up.
Your whole trip with us took place in the future.
So you are back. Not only to where you were but also exactly when you were there.
MAGGIE
You mean as if we were never away?
COMMANDER
Correct.
The ship is now hovering directly over Maggie’s boat.
MAX
Will we ever see you again?
COMMANDER
Remember that message I sent to your phone?
Just reply with any message and we will pick it up.
And then maybe we will come to the same place at night to pick you up.
MAX
Oh no! I’ll be leaving here soon to go back to school.
MAGGIE
I’ll still be here.
COMMANDER
Unfortunately Max, we can only come here to the same spot we picked you up.
MAGGIE
But why?
COMMANDER
Because this is the only place and moment in time when your life in your present has crossed with ours in the future.
MAGGIE
So when you get a message from us in our future, you can only return to this place and time in the past to pick us up?
COMMANDER
Correct Maggie.
MAX
Wow. That’s mad!
COMMANDER
But now it’s time for me to say goodbye.
Maybe we will meet again. Maybe not. It’s up to you.
Goodbye Maggie and Max.
The screen goes black.
EXT. LOCH - NIGHT
Maggie is rowing them back to shore.
They drag the boat onto the shore and turn it over to cover the oars.
They hug each other and Maggie runs off into the night while Max heads back to the croft.
INT. CROFT - DAY
Mother is laying the breakfast table.
MOTHER
Max! Max! It’s time to get up.
A disheveled, yawning Max appears and sits down at the breakfast table.
MOTHER
You look like I feel.
MAX
Didn’t you sleep?
MOTHER
No. I had a horrible nightmare.
MAX
What about?
MOTHER
I dreamed that you had disappeared. Along with Mr McLeod’s daughter Maggie.
And we had no idea where you were.
MAX
Well I didn’t sleep either.
MOTHER
You didn’t?
MAX
No. I was out on the loch.
MOTHER
(stops and turns to Max)
What do you mean...out on the loch?
MAX
I went for a walk last night and I met Mr. McLeod’s daughter Maggie.
So she took me rowing.
MOTHER
Wait a minute. The pair of you were out rowing on the loch at midnight!
MAX
Yes. Maggie was investigating something and she asked me to come along.
MOTHER
Max! You could have had an accident and drowned! Anything could have happened!
MAX
But we didn’t.
MOTHER
(calming down)
So did you find anything?
MAX
No. Nothing at all. That loch is dead as a doornail.
MOTHER
No secret weapons?
MAX
Not even a fish.
They start to eat their breakfast.
MOTHER
And what is Maggie like?
MAX
She’s cool.
MOTHER
Well that’s good. So maybe you’ll learn to row after all?
At least that will be something exciting to do for the rest of the holiday?
MAX
Actually ... meeting Maggie was exciting enough.
MOTHER
Really?
They continue eating.
MAX
Mum.
MOTHER
Yes.
MAX
Can we come back here at Christmas?
MOTHER
But I thought you hated Scotland?
MAX
I’ve changed my mind.
FADE OUT.: