FADE IN
Act 1
INT. DINING ROOM - 11:30
After a family breakfast, PETER is chatting with his WIFE.
PETER: Any idea to spend the day?
WIFE: I want to buy some books at the Hong Kong Book Fair at the Convention Centre in the late afternoon.
PETER: Okay, let's go, although I won't buy any books.
WIFE: I often drive and I haven't visited the newly-opened Convention Centre MTR station.
PETER: Okay, let's also check it out then.
Peter turns to their younger DAUGHTER.
PETER: Would you like to join us?
Daughter, who is focusing on drama on screen, shakes her head sideways.
PETER (V.O.): I'm on a date with my wife.
Act 2
INT/EXT. CONVENTION CENTRE STATION - 17:15
Getting out from a MTR train, Peter waits no time to take photos of the station name in Chinese “會展”。
WIFE: The fixtures and fittings are different from other MTR stations.
PETER: The station here is more accessible than the Wan Chai and the Causeway Bay stations.
Leaving the station with the crowd, they follow the directional signs "Hong Kong Book Fair 2022"
PETER (V.O.): I haven't gone to the "Hong Kong Book Fair" for about 10 years.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I didn't have VIP access to the Fair like we're now, the queuing has always been time-consuming.
Later, they enter the halls and see endless booths with books everywhere.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's good about any book fair is that it isn't the usual library materials such as Philosophy and Laws.
They walk from booth to booth.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I used to buy a lot of discounted books on leadership and management in book fairs.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having read some of the contents, I found that many of the books I bought were pedestrian stuff and it'd be time-wasting to read them.
They avoid bumping into other VISITORS.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the better ones, I thought I might read them at my leisure.
Peter takes photos of his sights.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But then, there're always other better things to do like swimming, playing guitar and composing.
As his wife is checking some books at a booth, Peter opens one book to read.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): See if it may make me sink into it.
Peter reads a few lines.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Not captivating to me at all.
Peter takes a look of the other hundreds of titles and the potential CUSTOMERS nearby.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But authors are writing works and publishers are publishing books.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now is the annual occasion for selling and buying them.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):It's part of Hong Kong's creative/copyright industry.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I don't even have one work published in the traditional book format!
Peter's wife buys some books in a booth.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the voluminous memos and papers that I wrote when I was with the Government, I own no copyright and they remain unpublished.
Peter's wife buys some more books in another booth.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):For some laws I helped made and published in statute books, I couldn't assert to be the author.
EXT/INT. CONVENTION CENTRE STATION - 19:45
Entering with his wife, Peter takes a look of his smart phone in hand.
PETER (V.O.): My smart phones, rather than books, are portable magic.
Act 3
INT. DINING ROOM - 21:45
Coming out from the kitchen, Peter's wife talks to the younger daughter.
WIFE: WhatsApp your sister and brother that tonight's skyping has to be postponed to tomorrow.
PETER (V.O.): Our date has turned out to be longer than originally planned.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But we've checked the Hong Kong Book Fair 2022 and the Convention Centre MTR station.
Peter checks images of Google Photos on his smart phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I've captured some nice images of the happenings. It's quite a date to remember.
THE END
FADE OUT
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