Heartbeats & Ink

Sofia

I was feeling a whirlwind of emotions for the first time in my life while talking to Adrian.

Was that a date? I'm still not sure.

My beautiful moment shattered when Dante called me and said only four words: "In my office, ASAP." My stomach turned.

Sitting in the cab, I replayed last night's frantic scriptwriting session. Watching porn to write erotic scenes—what was I thinking? I don't understand what people see in sex. Not that I'm judging, but while I could grasp the mechanics, the why of it eluded me. Why endure pain for pleasure? I was lost in these thoughts when I arrived at Vogutte Media. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the building, a tumult of emotions swirling inside me.

Outside Dante's office, I knocked. "Come in," he called. His forehead glistened with sweat, and I could see the frowns etched on his face. He held printouts of my script, anachronistically A4-sized.

"Hey, how are you?" I managed to say.

"I'm not doing well, Sofia," he replied, louder than usual. If I wasn't a girl or he wasn't trying to be a gentleman, his words might have killed me.

"Is it my script, something wrong with my script?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"What's wrong? Everything!" He slapped the papers onto his desk. "This script reads like a schoolgirl's sexual fantasy after watching porn for the first time. Did you even read it after you wrote it?"

My heart sank. He continued, "The storyline and language are great, especially the romantic scenes—they're beautiful. But the erotic scenes? They're awful.

Are you perhaps a virgin?

I looked down, embarrassed. His words hit hard. Not having sex had never been a problem until now. I could write about places I'd never been to, emotions I'd never felt, but I couldn't connect with my characters' intimacy.

"Sofia, I'm talking to you," Dante's voice broke through my thoughts. "Do you realize people will laugh at these scenes? Our actors will refuse to perform them. It reads like a porn script."

Tears welled up as I acknowledged the truth in his words. I had tried to fake my way through writing something I didn't understand. Then Dante said something that made me feel even worse.

"I respect you as a writer, Sofia, but if you can't improve this, I'll have to find someone else. We have a one-month deadline. I need a final script in 20 to 25 days to make corrections. Do you understand?"

My dream of writing for a movie was crumbling before my eyes. Trying to hold myself together, I pleaded, "Dante, please give me this chance. I'll do my best."

He considered for a moment. "You have two weeks, Sofia. If you can't deliver, we'll bring in someone else. We'll still credit you, but it will be shared."

The idea of sharing my hard work made me feel sick, but Dante was right. I stood up, shook his hand, and said, "I won't disappoint you."

Leaving his office, my mind was consumed with thoughts of how to write those erotic scenes. Adrian and everything else faded away as I headed back to my PG, determined to conquer this challenge.