Isabella: 17, shy and quiet, intent on becoming an artist
Ana: 18, worldly, Russian, goth and cynical
Emma: 17, has braces, from the South, earnest and tries too hard
Pete: 18, oily, considers himself a player, jerk
Oliver: 18, the would be romance character, beautiful, inherently cruel
Maya: 16, ethereal, blond and mysterious (Russian)
Hannah: 15, mature for her age, jealous of Isabella
Isabella is a hard-working teen that secretly wants to be a fine artist, but lacks true artistic inspiration. She works her way into a fine arts program in Italy, and while there is haunted by strange images of her comically over-privileged peers killing themselves and each other. Inspired by the bloody artwork on the walls of museums around her, Isabella decides to lean into this grotesque inspiration, and creates stunning artwork depicting these hallucinations. She falls for her roommate Ana, and decides she must hone her painting skills so that they might be worthy of painting Ana. However, when the hallucinations fail to disappear, Isabella panics, convinced that they are real. No one believes Isabella when she tells them what's happening, not even Ana. Isabella stumbles around, seeking help smeared in her roommates’ blood. Just after Ana drowns in the Arno, Isabella snaps to attention in front of a painting showcased just before the madness became seemingly real, and realizes the horror has all been a terrible daydream. She walks around the corner and there stands Ana, alive in front of a painting. Isabella runs to her, relieved. She promises to paint her that day. Preparing for the painting at home, Isabella places some flowers in Ana’s mouth and asks her to contort herself as though she’s choking, or drowning. She does so. Then, Ana begins genuinely choking. Isabella watches, transfixed, ready for her next vision. Ana wheezes and struggles, and finally dies. Isabella begins drawing it. Emma bursts into the room, surveys the drawing and a very dead Ana, and screams, “What the fuck?”
End.
