FADE IN:
INTERIOR SCENE – OFFICE MEETING ROOM – MORNING: The LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER is talking with his NEW ASSISTANT, while other two people organize their papers. They are all seated at the same side of a rectangular table.
NEW ASSISTANT: “We are not prepared to address the issue. In fact, at this point we have no idea how to solve it. This will be a massacre. They will eat us alive.”
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “Don’t be dramatic. We will figure out a way to avoid such “massacre”. Just keep calm.”
NEW ASSISTANT: “But we have no time left to figure out anything. They are arriving.”
As the ‘New Assistant’ finishes his sentence, the SECRETARY opens the meeting room door, step into the room and announces.
SECRETARY: “Good morning. Our HEADQUARTER MANAGERS are here.”
Three HEADQUARTER MANAGERS enter the room. Two men in impeccable suits. One woman in an elegant business suit and carefully cared hairstyle.
The LOCAL MANAGERS stand up. They greet each other. The HEADQUARTER MANAGERS seat at the opposite side of the table.
HEADQUARTER MANAGER #1: “Let’s get it started. We don’t have much time. We are flying back before lunch.”
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “We are ready. Let me start giving you an overview of our local office operations.”
He turns on the slide projector. At the end of the table there is a screen hanging from the ceiling. Everybody looks to the screen.
It is a long room. There is a good amount of space left behind the screen. In this space, there is a large elephant. It is alive. It is moving its trunk slowly, looking at the people in the room. It is big. Everybody can see it.
A ‘Headquarter Manager’ points to the elephant and asks.
HEADQUARTER MANAGER #2: “Shouldn’t we go straight to the point?”
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “It is important I give you some perspective first. Please, give me a couple of minutes.”
He nods. The other ‘Headquarter Managers’ nod in sync.
The ‘Local Office Old Manager’ projects a slide with data about his region and some pictures of his customers.
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “Our region has a great potential and our customers have been very happy with the services we have been providing them…”
While he talks, he can see the ‘Headquarter Managers’ are getting impatient. He continues.
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “…but there is something that our customers have asked us, which we have not been able to solve.”
He looks to the ‘Local Manager’ seated at his side and says.
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “Can you show them?”
The ‘Local Manager’ curves down to get something that is inside a box seating on the floor at the side of his chair. He straights himself back, holding, with both hands, a nervous rabbit. He places the rabbit at the center of the table.
The rabbit stays still in full alert, looking around, ready to jump.
Everybody in the room change their expressions. From impatience, from annoyed, from concerned to full alertness. You can see their primal instincts coming to the surface. You can almost see they are salivating. They are ready to hunt.
One of the ‘Headquarter Managers’ make the first move. He stands up and tries to grab the rabbit. The rabbit jumps to the lap of another ‘Headquarter Manager’. He tries to hold it, but the rabbit jumps again. Soon, the room is filled with excitement with everybody running around, trying to grab the rabbit.
At some point the ‘Local Office Old Manager’ stop participating in the pursue. He goes to the door, opens it, and wait for the rabbit to flee the room with the meeting participants running after it.
As the ‘Assistant’ tries to cross the door, the ‘Local Office Old Manager’ holds him.
ASSISTANT: “Let me go. We need to capture the rabbit.”
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “Calm down. Enough of this rabbit for today.”
The ‘Assistant’ relaxes a little. Looks around. Sees the elephant.
ASSISTANT: “What about the elephant? Aren’t they coming back for it?”
The ‘Local Office Old Manager’ smiles.
LOCAL OFFICE OLD MANAGER: “Not today. Sometime in the future. By then, we will have to learn how to deal with the elephant, or at least, we will need to have another rabbit to release.”
FADE OUT.