Love and Ambition

13 - Passion

A week of planning flies by with countless trips to the kitchen to make coffee. 

The last planning day rolls around and I yawn as I take a break from staring at the screen. The blinking line now at the end of the script as I write: fade out.

My shoulders fall as I let out a breath of relief, looking out the window of the film room. The sun has finally set and I look at the time thinking it's 6 pm.

20:15

For the first time in what felt like forever, the vision of me winning the Best Film Award becomes clearer. Like a fogged glass was wiped clean and you can see what's on the other side. I smile at the thought. 

Across the table from me is Jenn, sleeping with her head laying on her arm beside her laptop. I walk and look over her shoulder to see that she's planned out the timetable for only one day. I huff.

A knock on the door jumps her awake. I look up to see Jason with a can of energy drink and a soft smile on his face.

"I guess you're not going out tonight?" He walks in, setting the energy drink by my laptop. 

I pat Jenn's shoulder, "No, because someone fell asleep making the film schedule."

"Mmmph," Jenn lays her head back down.

Jason's smile grows wider as he walks towards me, pulling me into him as he has his hands on my back. "Well, will I see you sometime tonight?"

I shake my head for a no, biting my lower lip. 

Every bone in my body aches to spend time with him. Lay in bed together and just talk in the darkness like what we've done this whole week. Talk about nothing. Talk until my mouth runs dry and my eyes ache, then realizing that it's long past midnight. Then, when I walk back to my room, Jane's eyes suggests a smirk as she looks up from the book she was reading; spending the next hour talking about Jason.

He's a blessing of a person. A light that came after the dark cloud that Sean loomed on me.

But he still lingers. 

I don't want to be with Jason just for him to pick up the broken pieces that Sean left behind. I don't want that to be weighing on his shoulders.

I need to fix myself.

Jason kisses the top of my head, followed by a soft, "okay."

He holds my hand a second longer as he pulls away. I watch him walk out of the door. Out of sight. Leaving my heart to throb.

An hour passed. Jenn's head bobs back and forth as she's about to pass out again. 

"I'll get you a cup of coffee," I suggest.

As I walk out of the film classroom, I hear the soft tinkering of a piano piece being played in the music room. I walk to the door, listening if it's a recording or someone playing. Soon enough, the playing stops, followed by an angry growl.

I open the door slowly, trying not to interrupt the pianist inside. As I take a quick peek, I see the familiar blonde sitting behind the grand piano. Becca is playing a beautiful classical piece and I watch as her hands seem to float up and down the keyboard. I watch her play, and how she idly sways her body to the tempo of the music...

She looks peaceful. You wouldn't think of her as a bitch. 

She finishes, exhaling a heavy breath. 

"That was beautiful, Becca," I say, entering the room.

She smiles, but softly this time. Unlike the beaming smile she would have when presenting an idea during class. It's like she's embarrassed. "Thanks," her voice croaked.

"I never knew you played," I walk closer to her, intrigued.

Becca shrugs her shoulders. "Well," she starts, "my dad pushed me to do everything when I was younger. From music, to art, to acting. He needed to know what my talent was. If I wasn't good at something, he made sure that I worked harder for it."

She swallows hard. 

"Looks like it paid off," I point out.

Her eyes stare at the ground as she shrugs her shoulders again. "Us Auclairs need to succeed!" She said as if mimicking her dad. "I only took Film Production to please my father. He's a director, you know."

I notice on her tone of 'father'—saying it out of spite.

She heaves a sigh. "But all I really want is to play music."

"Becca," I lean on the piano, "my parents dreamed for me to have a career in law or medicine, but I told them, 'Fuck you! Film making is my passion!'"

She laughs softly.

"So, even though my parents and I have a... Shaky relationship... At least I'm happy."

We stay in an oddly comfortable silence. I look at her as my advice processes in her brain. She slowly releases a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," she says. 

I nod at her before walking out of the room, then heading to the kitchen.

Rebecca Auclair—not a bitch. Just has daddy issues.