Pilot

By
Laura e. Crook

"Unraveled"
TEASER:

INT. TODD’S APARTMENT/KITCHEN - MORNING

TODD WALKER (late 40’s, well-dressed and neat) pours coffee
from a pot into a large mug. He stirs milk and sugar into
his mug. An alarm on his watch beeps. Todd folds a
newspaper under his arm and walks toward the door.

INT. TODD’S APARTMENT/BACK HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

Todd shuts and locks his door. He trots down the back
stairs, holding his coffee in one hand and his newspaper in
the other. He reaches the bottom of the stairwell and walks
into--

INT. FABRIC TOWN - CONTINUOUS

Fabric Town, the store Todd owns and lives above. The
entire stores stretches before him, and he passes through it
all. Basics, with a maze of aisles filled with bolts of
cotton fabric, patterns and quilting notions is
first. Beyond Basics is Yarn--walls of colorful skeins and
several shelves of knitting books.
Across the aisle from Yarns is Scrapbooking. Rows of
drawers of paper above a wall of stickers for every possible
occasion. Stacked haphazardly against the wall are empty
scrapbook albums.
Beyond Scrapbooking is Notions; the home to all
miscellaneous crafts like beads, paint, felt, and pompoms,
as well as needle and thread. One wall is devoted entirely
to buttons and, perpendicular, is another wall covered with
spools of ribbon. Across the aisle from Notions are the
cash registers and the front door.

EXT. FABRIC TOWN - CONTINUOUS

The storefront is plastered with fliers. One reads "All
Buttons BOGO 1/2 Off!" a second, smaller sign, says "Help
Wanted." Todd unlocks the door from the inside and flips
the open/closed sign to "open."
 2.

INT. GWEN’S HOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

GWEN REYNOLDS (16) sits at the kitchen table, picking
half-heartedly at a bowl of cereal. A wall calendar
hangs next to the stove; one day is circles in red
pen. LINDA, Gwen’s mother, enters, dressed in a business
suit. She pours a cup of coffee and settles down at the
table.

GWEN
My birthday’s next week.
LINDA
Is it? I had almost forgotten.

GWEN (CONT’D)
Yeah. I figured. Mom, I was
thinking...
A beat. Gwen gathers her breath.

GWEN (CONT’D)
I want to get my driver’s license.
Linda looks up from her coffee.
LINDA
Oh, Gwennie. I don’t know. When I
was your age--
GWEN
(Muttering)
Dinosaurs still existed?
Linda ignores Gwen.
LINDA
--Teenagers got jobs before they
learned to drive. Driving is a--
GWEN
(Tonelessly)
Privilege, not a right.

LINDA
Precisely. I think it’s high time
you had a little
responsibility. Get a job and then
we’ll talk about your driver’s
license.

Linda opens her newspaper, carefully folds it in half, pulls

out a pen and starts doing the crossword.
 3.

GWEN
Mom!
Linda holds up a pen, signaling silence.
LINDA
I need a six letter word for deny.
Gwen sighs and starts to eat her cereal.
GWEN
Refuse.
LINDA
That’s the ticket, Gwennie!
ACT ONE:

INT. FABRIC TOWN / BREAK ROOM - DAY

The break room has several small tables, ringed by
chairs. In one corner is a xerox machine, in another a
couple vending machines. A sign hanging on a closed door
reads "Todd Walker, Store Manager." VAL (early 40’s) sits,
slumped over, at one of the tables, idly flipping through a
magazine. LACEY (25), sits next to her, sketching in a
notebook. CODY (18) leans back further and further in his
chair, catching himself just before he tips over. DOROTHY
(mid-70’s) flutters in front of the vending machines.
DOROTHY
Should I get pretzels or those
little cookies with the cream and
the Styrofoam?

VAL
(Acidly)
Well, when you put it like that...
Cody looks up from his sketchbook and blinks slowly. When
Cody speaks, he has a slight stutter.
CODY
I vote for the pretzels, Dorothy.

Dorothy beams at Cody and punches a couple numbers into the

machine. A pack of liquorice drops down.
DOROTHY
Oh. Liquorice. Well, win some,
lose some.
 4.

Lacey laughs softly into her sketchbook. Dorothy sits at the

table and pulls out a large, violently green sweater. She
starts to knit. The door to the office opens, and Todd
emerges, holding a packet of papers.

TODD
It’s Lulu Perez Day!
Todd pauses for effect. Cody tips his chair back too far
and falls to the floor.

VAL
Oh, Lord. That’s today?
TODD
(Sighs)
There have been signs up for a
month, Val.
Val shrugs and returns to her magazine.
TODD (CONT’D)
Fine. She’ll be here at three, so
get cracking.

INT. FABRIC TOWN / BASICS - CONTINUOUS

The Basics department looks like a tornado has ripped
through it; a tornado that has left behind a trail of cotton
fabric squares. Val, Dorothy and Cody roll the squares into
small, fat cylinders. Lacey takes pictures with a large
film camera.
VAL
Lulu Perez. Please, like anyone
cares about that hack. God, I hate
quilters.
CODY
...You’re a quilter.
VAL
For the craft. Trust me, Cody, it
isn’t for the company.

Cody laughs. Lacey snaps a picture of him.

 5.

EXT. CITY STREET - DAY

Gwen and her best friend, HANNAH (16), stroll down the a
sparsely-populated suburban street. Hannah eats an ice
cream cone loudly.

HANNAH
Having a job isn’t so bad. I’ve
been working for my parents for
years and I’m still alive.

GWEN
Hannah, it’s not the fact that I’m
getting a job, it’s the way she
said it. It was this subtle
threat. "Get a job or kiss your
driver’s license goodbye."

The girls stop outside a shoe store with a "help wanted"

sign in the window. Gwen and Hannah glance at each
other. Gwen shrugs.

INT. SHOE STORE - CONTINUOUS

This shoe store isn’t your average discount shoe store--it’s
one of those high-class stores where they only keep one shoe
of each style out for display and the rest are stored in the
back. Gwen and Hannah--each dressed in jeans and admittedly
ragged t-shirts--look completely out of place. The
salesgirl (late 20’s, dressed stylishly) looks up from her
nail file.
SALESGIRL
(Snidely)
Yes?
Gwen deflates slightly at the salesgirl’s tone. She
gestures helplessly at the sign in the window.

GWEN
I... are you... I’d like to apply
for a job.
The salesgirl leans over and eyes Gwen’s feet carefully.

SALESGIRL
Size nine?
Gwen looks down at her feet.
 6.

GWEN
Uh, yeah.

SALESGIRL
Sorry, your feet are too big.
GWEN
Too...

SALESGIRL
Too big. Your feet. They’re too
big, Sasquatch. We only hire size
eight and smaller.
HANNAH
That’s discrimination!
SALESGIRL
No, that’s how we stay in
business. We sell small shoes to
women with small feet. You could
try Sears.

EXT. CITY STREET - CONTINUOUS

Hannah licks her ice cream cone and tosses one arm around
Gwen’s shoulders. They walk away from the shoe store.
HANNAH
Another bitch who’s seen Mean Girls
one too many times. What’s next?

Gwen wordlessly points to a laundromat down the

street. Hannah wrinkles her nose.
HANNAH (CONT’D)
Not my first choice, but hey! At
least they won’t complain that your
feet are too big.

EXT. LAUNDROMAT - CONTINUOUS

Gwen and Hannah walk out of the laundromat.

HANNAH
Wow. Someone in this town has it
in for girls with size nine feet.

GWEN
Shut up, Hannah.
Gwen and Hannah walk away from the laundromat.
 7.

GWEN (CONT’D)
Is your parents’ deli hiring?
HANNAH
Forget it. I don’t think our
friendship could survive working
together.
Gwen steals Hannah’s ice cream cone and munches on it.
GWEN
Well unless you have any bright
ideas, the next stop on my list is
the nursing home on Oak street.
HANNAH
There’s always Fabric Town.

GWEN
No.
Hannah takes her ice cream back.

HANNAH
Why not? Todd told me they’re
looking for a new cashier ever
since Kim Greenwood got
pregnant. Plus it’s next door to
the deli.

GWEN
Uh, the short list? I don’t know
anything about fabric and I’m
pretty sure I’d rather be
surrounded by old people than the
weirdos who work there.
Hannah and Gwen have reached the deli. Hannah pushes Gwen
toward Fabric Town.

HANNAH
Think of it this way: once you get
your license, you can quit.
Gwen rolls her eyes and pushes the door open. A bell
jingles.
 8.

INT. FABRIC TOWN / BASICS - CONTINUOUS

Val, Lacey, Cody and Todd look up as the bell rings. Lacey
and Cody immediately puts one finger against their noses,
signaling "not it." Val rolls her eyes. Dorothy continues
rolling fat quarters. Todd sighs and puts down the fabric
he’s rolling.
TODD
I’m going, I’m going.

Todd trots through the store.

INT. FABRIC TOWN / NOTIONS - CONTINUOUS

Gwen is examining the wall of buttons. Todd comes up the
aisle.
TODD (CONT’D)
Can I help you?
Gwen jumps and turns.

GWEN
I... are you hiring?
Todd runs one hand through his hair.

TODD
I don’t know, actually. This is a
weird day; we’ve got a quilting
superstar coming in, with her
entourage, and have you ever been
in the middle of a group of
quilters? They’re locusts, the lot
of them.
Todd puts one hand around Gwen’s shoulders and starts to
guide her toward the door.

TODD
Why don’t you try the shoe store
down the road?
GWEN
(Mumbling)
My feet were too big.
TODD
Come again?
 9.

GWEN
(Louder)
My feet. They were too big.

Todd stops and drops his hand from Gwen’s back.

TODD
Ah, I see you met Sarah.

Todd sighs deeply.

TODD (CONT’D)
Do you know what a fat quarter is,
Gwen?

GWEN
No.
TODD
Do you know how to
knit? Purl? Bast a seam?

GWEN
No, nothing.
Todd stares at Gwen for a long moment. Suddenly the
intercom blares into life.

DOROTHY (O.S.)
Give her a chance, Toddy-boy!
Todd grins.

TODD
Want to learn?
Gwen looks around the Notions department, taking in the
haphazardly piled ribbons, boxes of beads and latch-hook
kits. She sighs.
GWEN
Why not?
TODD
Let me give you the tour.
Cody runs up the aisle.
CODY
Slight problem. Um, it seems that
Dorothy got into the special juice
this morning and now she’s dancing
on top of the cutting table.
 10.

TODD
Good God. Cody, can you take
Miss...
GWEN
Gwen. Reynolds.
TODD
Yes. Can you take her on a
tour? And I’ll go deal with
Dottie.

Todd starts to walk quickly down the aisle to Basics.

CODY
Aye, aye, captain!

Todd turns and stares at Cody.

CODY (CONT’D)
Just... trying something new.
Todd shakes his head and continues toward Basics. Cody
turns to Gwen and sweeps his hand across the entire Notions
department.
CODY (CONT’D)
This is Notions and Crafts. All
sewing Notions--

Gwen tilts her head inquisitively.

CODY (CONT’D)
--Needles, thread, buttons and the
like are here. It’s also where we
stick the m-miscellaneous
crafts. The paper-mache volcano
supplies, if you will.
GWEN
Sounds boring.
CODY
(Playfully)
Watch it, this is where I work.

Gwen holds up her hands defensively.

GWEN
Sorry, sorry...
 11.

CODY
Next to Notions is--

INT. FABRIC TOWN / YARN - CONTINUOUS

Dorothy sits in a fold-out metal chair, knitting her

violently green sweater. A huge pile of yarn skeins sits on
a long table next to her. Gwen stands next to her, while
Cody peruses the skeins of yarn on the table.

DOROTHY
Yarn is the back-bone of the
crafting world, Gina.
GWEN
Uh, it’s Gwen, actually.

Dorothy picks up a mug of coffee and sips from it. Gwen,

catching the smell, wrinkles her nose.
GWEN (CONT’D)
(Quietly, to Cody)
Is her coffee--
CODY
(Quietly)
Spiked? Oh yeah. Trust me, she’s
much less pleasant when she’s
sober.
DOROTHY
Yarn is the thread that holds all
the lesser crafts together.

Todd pokes his head around the aisle.

TODD
Dottie, I need you to put price
stickers on those skeins today.

DOROTHY
Oh, I will. I will. When I finish
this row.
Todd nods and leaves. Dorothy takes another sip of
coffee. She finishes her row and calmly starts a new one.
DOROTHY (CONT’D)
What was I talking about?
 12.

INT. FABRIC TOWN / SCRAPBOOKING - CONTINUOUS

Lacey is standing on a large work table, changing a light
bulb. A lone customer stands below, clutching a large
scrapbook album, a ream of colored paper and a roll of
stickers.

CUSTOMER
Excuse me, miss?
Lacey looks down at the customer, smiles, and hops off the
table. Behind the customer, Cody and Gwen walk into the
department.
CUSTOMER (CONT’D)
I’m looking for quote stickers.

Lacey nods and gestures for the customer to walk with

her. Cody and Gwen follow. Lacey turns a corner and sweeps
out her arm, encompassing the entire aisle. The customer
looks bewildered, but Lacey just walks away.
GWEN
(Quietly, to Cody)
Does she ever talk?
CODY
Lacey? No. She’s shy. Great
photographer, though. You should
see her scrapbooks; she’s got an
eye for layout.
Cody takes Gwen by the arm and steers her out of
Scrapbooking.

GWEN
Why does she have a job in retail
if she can’t talk to people?
CODY
She’s Todd’s niece. Never
underestimate the power of
nepotism, huh?
Cody and Gwen walk down the aisle and enter--

INT. FABRIC TOWN / BASICS - CONTINUOUS

--The Basics department, home of quilting. In Cody’s short
absence, Val has abandoned even the pretense of preparing
for Lulu Perez’s visit. Half-emptied boxes of quilting
books sit next to the cutting table, which is littered with
 13.

bolts of fabric. Val is serenely hand-quilting a small

quilt. Cody and Gwen approach.
CODY
Working hard, Val?

Val speaks without looking up.

VAL
Who are you, the quilting
police? Lulu Perez can arrange her
own damn books. I’m done.
Cody grins and picks up a box.
CODY
(To Gwen)
Take this, will you? Todd’s going
to freak if the store isn’t ready
for Lulu.
Gwen takes the box from Cody, nearly dropping it from the
unexpected weight.

GWEN
Oof. Who’s Lulu?
CODY
She’s... quilting royalty.

Val scoffs. Cody ignores her and picks up another box.

CODY (CONT’D)
She practically pioneered the
standard template for a crazy
quilt.
VAL
Crazy quilts don’t have a standard
template. That’s why they’re
crazy.

Cody plops the box he’s holding onto the cutting

table. Gwen follows suit.
CODY
Plus she’s written ten bestselling
books on quilting.
Gwen opens one of the boxes and takes out a book.
 14.

GWEN
Quilters have books? Bestselling
books?

VAL
Well they don’t make it into the
New York Times, but they do pretty
well.

Gwen and Cody stock books onto an empty shelf. Todd runs
into the department. His hair is standing on end, as though
he has been pulling at it all day. He points to each of his
employees as he gives them directions.
TODD
Val, stop quilting and alphabetize
those books. Cody, run upstairs
and get the pastries from the break
room. Gwen...
Todd sweeps his arm across the cutting table.

TODD (CONT’D)
Can you clean this up? Let’s make
Lulu think we’re a fabric store,
not a disaster area.

GWEN
Right away, boss.
Todd and Cody leave. Val sighs and starts organizing the
books. Gwen picks up the bolts of fabric, refolds them, and
tucks them under the cutting table. Gwen gathers up the
unfolded fat quarters in her arms. Walking past Val, who’s
attention is fully immersed in the books, ducks out the back
door and tosses the scraps of fabric into the
dumpster. Gwen reenters the store. Todd pokes his head
around the corner.

TODD
Hey, Gwen, before I forget, ask Val
how to fold the fat
quarters. We’re giving them away
as door prizes.

GWEN
Sure. What are fat quarters,
anyway?
TODD
They’re those square pieces of
fabric on the...
Todd sees that the cutting table is empty.
 15.

TODD (CONT’D)
...Cutting table. Gwen. Where are
the unfolded fat quarters?
Gwen bites her lip.

GWEN
Um. In the dumpster?
Val starts to laugh.

VAL
Nice one, kid.
END OF ACT ONE.