Sarah loved this kind of silence. Especially since she was meant to spend tonight with her beloved Rifat.
So peaceful, so romantic. And looking back, tonight could be considered special. The outline had been approved—although, of course, there were notes from both the producer and director. That meant sixty percent of the work was done. She could start working on the first draft tomorrow, so tonight was dedicated exclusively to her beloved boyfriend. "Anything you want, Baby," she said, winking.
Rifat, her sexy boyfriend, enthusiastically welcomed her 'gift'. In fact, he looked as overexcited as a child when Sarah said that after dinner, they would watch a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon.
for the millionth time. Peter Jackson's masterpiece was indeed Rifat's absolute favorite—the exact opposite of Sarah, who would undoubtedly struggle to fight off the sleepiness that was assaulting her.
Accompanied by instant popcorn (just microwaveable) and a bottle of cola-flavored soft drink, movie night began. Toss hobbits and whatever else was on her television screen, tonight she wanted to cuddle in Rifat's arms. Her preparations were complete. Their feet were tucked under the warm bedcover (which she'd gone to the trouble of getting from her room earlier), while Sarah would curl up in his embrace. She'd nestle between his shoulder and neck, occasionally stealing a kiss. Hmmm, what a perfect night, Sarah thought with a mischievous smile.
And, when they were alone like this, Sarah had a habit of listening to Rifat's heartbeat. Her whole body felt warm and comfortable as the soft, pounding sound played like music to her ears. As if reading the situation, the boy's fingers played with the curls of Sarah's hair. Every now and then, the movement turned into a soothing stroke, gently caressing her head.
"Sar," she called softly, sending a soft vibration through his chest. "Are you asleep yet?"
Rubbing her eyes with her right hand, Sarah said, "Not yet." Almost asleep, actually. The gentle caress and the music of her heartbeat lulled her to sleep. Sarah's eyes were almost completely closed when half Her consciousness recognized Rifat's voice calling her name. "What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to you about something," she said cautiously-
"About...?" Sarah's body reflexively tensed. Her drowsiness had completely vanished.
"Uh, but promise not to be angry?"
"Angry? Why would I be angry?" The girl's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Bad news?"
"Uh, y-you could say that." There was silence. "I w-wanted to keep this a secret from you. But the guilt just makes me uneasy. That's why... I decided to come clean-"
"Okay, I'm listening..." Sarah interrupted impatiently.
The guy straightened the chair cushion and used it as a backrest. The bedcover fell down to his stomach, giving Sarah full access to Rifat's flat stomach, visible because the hem of his shirt was pulled up slightly by the weight of the bedcover. Even without it, Sarah already knew every inch of her boyfriend's body. Rifat's body is undeniable evidence of his youthful mischief. Underneath his loose-fitting shirt, on the upper left side of his chest, is a tiger tattoo he got for fun while vacationing in Thailand with his gang. On his left arm, he sports a tattoo of a fierce dragon—another souvenir from the trip.
Rifat tried to smile, but it seemed so forced that Sarah became even more convinced this was indeed a serious conversation. Swallowing hard, the girl sat up straight as well. She looked at him with a furrowed brow. What the hell is going on? Sarah thought.
The boy took a deep breath. Even sitting almost face-to-face, Rifat seemed to be trying to avoid Sarah's questioning gaze.
Which is bad. Very bad.
Various plot possibilities jumped around in the girl's mind, but she chose to ignore them all. She loved Rifat, so she chose to believe—and hoped the confession that would come from his lips wouldn't be as bad as she thought.
"Sar, you know how I really feel about you." Ugh. What a terrible start, Sarah thought. There was even a similar line in one of the screenplays she'd written. And it was a breakup scene.
Wait.
Is Rifat going to break up with her? Sarah bit her lower lip. B-but why? What had she done to make him want to end their relationship?!
Is it because he's busy?
Sarah admitted that the rhythm of a screenwriter's life is indeed different from that of other working people. The average office worker starts work at nine in the morning and leaves between four and five in the afternoon. As for Sarah? She doesn't officially start working until around eleven in the morning. She spends all night in front of her laptop, working on a draft of a screenplay she's working on using Final Draft (recommended by a senior scriptwriter she knows). When she's working on a script to catch up on broadcast, it's even worse; sleep becomes a luxury. Technically, during the soap opera project, her life and consciousness depend on the steady supply of caffeine flowing through her throat (she's a coffee person, by the way—one of two clichés for scriptwriters. Some writers she knows choose cigarettes as a source of inspiration).
So, yeah, she's not always there for Rifat. But that doesn't mean she doesn't strive to be the best girlfriend he can be. She maintains intense communication with Rifat as much as possible. Whether it's via BBM, SMS, or even the occasional direct message via Twitter (if she's too bored to write and finally musters up the courage to activate the internet connection, which, incidentally, is the biggest distraction when writing). And for the past year, Sarah has turned down offers to write scripts for soap operas that are being rushed to air. Instead, she's now more involved in producing FTVs and feature films. What more could I possibly need for all this sacrifice?
The girl's face looked even more worried when Rifat continued, saying, "You know I really love you..."
Another bad line, the girl thought to herself.
"Why am I suddenly starting to dislike the vibe of our conversation..." Sarah said with a dry laugh. The guy didn't laugh. Damn. Now she was completely out of excuses to deny the possible breakup plot that had been haunting her mind.
"I-I, I didn't do this on purpose," Rifat said quickly, his voice rising an octave from its usual pitch. "Suer, everything happened so fast... it was completely unexpected."
Sarah screamed, "Oh my gosh, what happened?!"
"Sar..."