The Last Story - Chapter 4
Marissa meets possibly the only person in the world who isn't after her for an ulterior motive.
"Hi, I'm David! I just moved into 208, do you know what floor that's on? I completely forgot!"
"Well, boo hoo for you. It's just so hard being a male isn't it. Oh, I'm a male, I forgot what floor I live on. I'm sure this lady can tell me! She looks lonely and desperate and famous! I wonder if she'll date me. Better not let my girlfriend know, though. She always get so damn mad when I cheat on her! I wonder why? Well, Mr. Cheater, why can't you just go ask that pretty receptionist over there. I'm sure she'd be delighted to tell you exactly where your room is. Maybe she'll even ask to come in. Just don't be too loud. I need my sleep," I exploded.
"Well that's sort of obvious. Do you explode at people often? I really do feel welcome now. Thank you for that. I suppose I will just go ask the receptionist where my room is. I just thought that since your key that you're holding says 206 that you might have a slight idea as to where I live. I guess I was wrong. Sorry, really, I am."
"Well now I feel guilty! Come on, you can follow me and discover how stupid you actually are. So, what brings you to New York? Obviously, you aren't a city boy or you'd be used to random outbursts."
"I'm that obvious? Well, I actually lived in Northern California for a while but grew up in Oklahoma City. Are you a native New Yorker?" He seemed genuinely interested so I answered to amuse him.
"No. Actually, I grew up in Muncie, Indiana. I moved here when I was about eleven or so. My job kind of required me to be in New York a lot so my parents figured it would be cheaper to move then to fly every weekend."
"What eleven year old kid has such a tight job to the point where you are required to fly cross-country every week?" Uh oh. Busted.
"David, tell me something. Do you read?"
"Well, sure, for amusement and law school. Everyone reads. Why, are you a publisher or something?"
"You know, or something. Um, what genres do you like?"
"Everything. Horror, romance, comedy. Am I a complete nerd for saying that?" he chuckled. I laughed along with him. He was kind of weird and sweet in a very unique way. Plus, he didn't recognize me at first. Who said that I couldn't drag this out a bit longer? Who said that I had to push people away? Maybe it would be nice to be someone other than myself for once.
"No, I just am kind of picky about the guys I like. And I like guys with a brain. It goes along well with my job. Well, here's our floor. I never really introduced myself. I'm..." I couldn't say Marissa. He could Google me or something. I had to think of a nickname so that I would respond. I had to think... "I'm Missy. Missy..." Carming? Charming? "Charming. Missy Charming," I finally finished.
"Well Missy Charming, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I really hope we can talk again sometime. When are you free?" he asked. He hadn't even looked at me oddly for my weird name stuttering moment.
"Any time. I work from home most of the time but have meetings. I'm always looking for excuses to leave though, so call anytime. Bye!" I beamed as we separated to go to our rooms. I could not believe that I lived across the hall from the hottest, sweetest, most stupid person in the world. How could he believe me?
What kind of a name is Missy Charming? And how had he never heard or seen my picture? Because he lived in Oklahoma and California! The two states with the least amount of interest in my stories had been central Oklahoma and northern California. Well, that must have been just luck because how in the world had the most convenient experience of my life been just that? Convenient. I suppose I was just used to working for everything. Maybe the gods had finally decided that I deserve a nice, extremely cute break.
I must say, I slept much better than I thought I was going to that night. Usually after book signings, I'm so wiped out that I can hardly make it to my room with my eyes open. Then, I would have nightmares all night and work all through the next day because of the inspiration they had brought me. But that night, all I saw was darkness and I woke up well rested, full of ideas. These ideas were different. They weren't negative at all. In fact, I began a new book. It was sweet and caring.
Stopping only for one bathroom break, I worked through the entire day. I didn't do anything, not even eat, besides work. The story was getting along well, and I was about half-way done when the doorbell rang. "I'm coming!" I shouted as I leaped up from my beanbag to answer the door. "Who is it?"
"It's David from across the hall! I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner," he answered through the wooden opening.
"Yeah, sure. I'm not really dressed or anything to go out though. Do you want to just order something and hang out here?" I asked, finally opening the door to let him in.
"That sounds amazing. Were you in here all day? I wanted to come over, but I wasn't sure if you were out or busy. I hope I'm not interrupting. You look nice."
Brushing my hand through my messy hair, I replied, "Thanks. I was working in today and got a ton finished, but I could really use a break. All work and no play leads for a bad day."
"Did you get that line from your mother?"
"Yes, actually. I enjoy quoting her. She's pure genius. That's where I get most of my inspiration from."
"Speaking of inspiration, I kind of wanted to ask you something. What is this mysterious job that you do? I mean, working all day yesterday and the day before and then staying in your apartment today; you seem so busy! When do you have fun? Are you a lawyer or something? Because I can't think of another job where you work over seventeen hours a day! You'd better be getting paid well!"
"I'm not a lawyer; not even close. I'm a writer. So, I guess you could say that I have fun all the time. The pay is great, I work my own hours unless I have meetings, and it's really an amazing job. I love what I do. I don't mind the long days because there are only a couple weeks of them each year."
"Well, I've never heard of you. No offense or anything! Are you a new writer? I'd love to read some of your work."
"Well, none of it is really amazing or anything. I write romance novels for teens. Fairly easy stuff with great rewards and super nice fans; I couldn't imagine a better job!"
"It sounds nice. Maybe I should forget law school and just become a writer. What are your favorite books? I really like this one author, but you'll think I'm a nerd!"
"Oh, come on! Try me!"
"She's been around forever! It's Marissa Carming. And I'm not one of those creepy stalker fans, but I truly enjoy her work. I can tell that there's pain behind her words. Everything she writes almost has a double meaning. See, I told you it sounded stupid!"
"No. It doesn't sound stupid at all. It sounds sweet. Now are we going to order or not? I call Chinese!" We ended up having an amazing time. I quickly realized my mistake of pushing people away. David was sweet and loved to listen to everything I had to say. It was the best night of my life.
"Well, boo hoo for you. It's just so hard being a male isn't it. Oh, I'm a male, I forgot what floor I live on. I'm sure this lady can tell me! She looks lonely and desperate and famous! I wonder if she'll date me. Better not let my girlfriend know, though. She always get so damn mad when I cheat on her! I wonder why? Well, Mr. Cheater, why can't you just go ask that pretty receptionist over there. I'm sure she'd be delighted to tell you exactly where your room is. Maybe she'll even ask to come in. Just don't be too loud. I need my sleep," I exploded.
"Well that's sort of obvious. Do you explode at people often? I really do feel welcome now. Thank you for that. I suppose I will just go ask the receptionist where my room is. I just thought that since your key that you're holding says 206 that you might have a slight idea as to where I live. I guess I was wrong. Sorry, really, I am."
"Well now I feel guilty! Come on, you can follow me and discover how stupid you actually are. So, what brings you to New York? Obviously, you aren't a city boy or you'd be used to random outbursts."
"I'm that obvious? Well, I actually lived in Northern California for a while but grew up in Oklahoma City. Are you a native New Yorker?" He seemed genuinely interested so I answered to amuse him.
"No. Actually, I grew up in Muncie, Indiana. I moved here when I was about eleven or so. My job kind of required me to be in New York a lot so my parents figured it would be cheaper to move then to fly every weekend."
"What eleven year old kid has such a tight job to the point where you are required to fly cross-country every week?" Uh oh. Busted.
"David, tell me something. Do you read?"
"Well, sure, for amusement and law school. Everyone reads. Why, are you a publisher or something?"
"You know, or something. Um, what genres do you like?"
"Everything. Horror, romance, comedy. Am I a complete nerd for saying that?" he chuckled. I laughed along with him. He was kind of weird and sweet in a very unique way. Plus, he didn't recognize me at first. Who said that I couldn't drag this out a bit longer? Who said that I had to push people away? Maybe it would be nice to be someone other than myself for once.
"No, I just am kind of picky about the guys I like. And I like guys with a brain. It goes along well with my job. Well, here's our floor. I never really introduced myself. I'm..." I couldn't say Marissa. He could Google me or something. I had to think of a nickname so that I would respond. I had to think... "I'm Missy. Missy..." Carming? Charming? "Charming. Missy Charming," I finally finished.
"Well Missy Charming, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I really hope we can talk again sometime. When are you free?" he asked. He hadn't even looked at me oddly for my weird name stuttering moment.
"Any time. I work from home most of the time but have meetings. I'm always looking for excuses to leave though, so call anytime. Bye!" I beamed as we separated to go to our rooms. I could not believe that I lived across the hall from the hottest, sweetest, most stupid person in the world. How could he believe me?
What kind of a name is Missy Charming? And how had he never heard or seen my picture? Because he lived in Oklahoma and California! The two states with the least amount of interest in my stories had been central Oklahoma and northern California. Well, that must have been just luck because how in the world had the most convenient experience of my life been just that? Convenient. I suppose I was just used to working for everything. Maybe the gods had finally decided that I deserve a nice, extremely cute break.
I must say, I slept much better than I thought I was going to that night. Usually after book signings, I'm so wiped out that I can hardly make it to my room with my eyes open. Then, I would have nightmares all night and work all through the next day because of the inspiration they had brought me. But that night, all I saw was darkness and I woke up well rested, full of ideas. These ideas were different. They weren't negative at all. In fact, I began a new book. It was sweet and caring.
Stopping only for one bathroom break, I worked through the entire day. I didn't do anything, not even eat, besides work. The story was getting along well, and I was about half-way done when the doorbell rang. "I'm coming!" I shouted as I leaped up from my beanbag to answer the door. "Who is it?"
"It's David from across the hall! I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner," he answered through the wooden opening.
"Yeah, sure. I'm not really dressed or anything to go out though. Do you want to just order something and hang out here?" I asked, finally opening the door to let him in.
"That sounds amazing. Were you in here all day? I wanted to come over, but I wasn't sure if you were out or busy. I hope I'm not interrupting. You look nice."
Brushing my hand through my messy hair, I replied, "Thanks. I was working in today and got a ton finished, but I could really use a break. All work and no play leads for a bad day."
"Did you get that line from your mother?"
"Yes, actually. I enjoy quoting her. She's pure genius. That's where I get most of my inspiration from."
"Speaking of inspiration, I kind of wanted to ask you something. What is this mysterious job that you do? I mean, working all day yesterday and the day before and then staying in your apartment today; you seem so busy! When do you have fun? Are you a lawyer or something? Because I can't think of another job where you work over seventeen hours a day! You'd better be getting paid well!"
"I'm not a lawyer; not even close. I'm a writer. So, I guess you could say that I have fun all the time. The pay is great, I work my own hours unless I have meetings, and it's really an amazing job. I love what I do. I don't mind the long days because there are only a couple weeks of them each year."
"Well, I've never heard of you. No offense or anything! Are you a new writer? I'd love to read some of your work."
"Well, none of it is really amazing or anything. I write romance novels for teens. Fairly easy stuff with great rewards and super nice fans; I couldn't imagine a better job!"
"It sounds nice. Maybe I should forget law school and just become a writer. What are your favorite books? I really like this one author, but you'll think I'm a nerd!"
"Oh, come on! Try me!"
"She's been around forever! It's Marissa Carming. And I'm not one of those creepy stalker fans, but I truly enjoy her work. I can tell that there's pain behind her words. Everything she writes almost has a double meaning. See, I told you it sounded stupid!"
"No. It doesn't sound stupid at all. It sounds sweet. Now are we going to order or not? I call Chinese!" We ended up having an amazing time. I quickly realized my mistake of pushing people away. David was sweet and loved to listen to everything I had to say. It was the best night of my life.
Post Comment | View Comments
