One In 52
PAUL
Pick a card, as they say, any card.
INT. A MEDIUM-SIZED LECTURE THEATRE – DAY
PAUL, the lecturer, is standing at the front of an almost-full lecture room. The audience is almost entirely male. But PAUL is facing a female, seated, member of the audience.
PAUL
Do you want to change your mind?
She shakes her head.
PAUL(CONT’D)
Are you sure?
She nods.
V.O.
People never do change their minds. It doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to the trick. But still it would be nice if occasionally…
PAUL
Thanks, you can sit down. You’ve just told us that the Ace of Spades is your favourite card. It was your free choice, correct?
Without waiting for an answer PAUL walks along the front.
PAUL (CONT’D)
I need another volunteer. (Pause) You!
He points at a man on the front row.
V.O.
At school the troublemakers sit on the back row. With this crowd they sit at the front. It doesn’t matter. No one can mess up this trick.
PAUL mimes throwing something to the man.
PAUL
Catch!
The man mimes catching it. He looks sheepish. There are a few muted laughs among the audience.
PAUL (CONT’D)
That’s an ordinary deck of cards, right? Look through the deck. All different?
The man half heartedly mimes looking through the imaginary deck. PAUL looks into the audience.
PAUL (CONT’D)
How many cards in an ordinary deck of cards?
AN AUDIENCE MEMBER
Fifty two!
PAUL
Right. That was an easy question. Don’t worry, I won’t ask difficult ones. Trick questions maybe…(he looks back at the man with the invisible deck) Now shuffle the deck.
Both PAUL and the man mime shuffling a deck of cards. The man is warming up.
PAUL (CONT’D)
And fan it. (Pause) No! No! Turn it the other way around, I don’t want to see the cards!
The audience laughs. They’re warming up…at last, PAUL thinks. PAUL reaches out with his right hand into the imaginary deck and mimes moving his fingers back and forth among the cards. His fingers stop, and slowly he mimes pulling out one of the cards. He brings it close to his chest, hiding it from view with his left hand. He looks at the imaginary card, and then at the man.
PAUL (CONT’D)
You can put the cards down now, thanks.
He looks at the audience and nods slowly.
PAUL (CONT’D)
Now a slightly harder question. What is the probability that the card I have in my hand is our friend’s favourite, the Ace of Spades?
To be continued…