In the Life of a Rose

October 28, 2019

In the Life of a Rose...

Just as Chris was busy with his interviews and famous life, I was busy watching a multitude of movies. I was sitting on the couch, my legs placed to the side and I was leaning on the armrest with a clipboard in front of me.

I had already finished Midsommar which was a disturbing yet magnificent masterpiece and immediately reviewed it, putting it on my website and sending them to the filmmakers. I hadn't received any replies but I knew I'd get them faster than I had seen them. I even finished and reviewed The Irishman which had come out a few weeks ago.

Now, I was watching Little Women with same actress from Midsommar, Florence Pugh. I had heard about Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet but I had never seen any of their works, and Emma Watson was a great actress. I was at the part where Florence's character, Amy, went and burnt Jo's book. I was truly astonished and I felt betrayed because I could sympathize with Jo as she sobbed after finding out. It felt as if one of my works was destroyed after hard work where I shed blood and tears.

After a long two hours, I finally finished the film and marked the list of things I considered as a great movie on my clipboard. I yawned and looked at the time. It was already the evening and I didn't feel like cooking so I ordered sushi.

As I was waiting for my delivery, I began writing the review, starting with the execution of the storyline, especially if it was made after the book by Louisa May Alcott, and it had many other adaptations. I remember most of it from high school and it was my second favorite after White Oleander.

I heard the doorbell ring and I closed my laptop and pranced to the door, excited for my food. I looked through the eye hole to make sure the driver was gone and opened the door to grab my food. Pivoting, I placed my food on the kitchen counter and opened the plate to reveal my rolls.

From the fridge, I poured myself the rest of the Cane's lemonade into a cup and broke apart the chopsticks to eat my California rolls. The moment I lifted my phone, a message from Chris had just popped in.

'What are you doing tonight?' he had texted.

'I'm gonna finish a review,' I replied to which he immediately saw. 'I thought you said you were busy?'

'I finished early. I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang?'

My thumb hovered over the letters, ready to reply. I bit my lip and thought: if I went out with him, I would push back my work days and not be able to attend the party; but if I didn't, I could be missing out on fun. I then began to think that Chris was a distraction; a fine, beautiful distraction.

'I asked my mom and she said I can't go to the sleepover,' I texted with a small chuckle as I put a roll into my mouth, tasting the ginger and wasabi.

'What?!' I could see the chat bubble still going and I was waiting for him to finish when my screen went black and he began FaceTiming me.

My mouth fell agape for a short minute as I watched the phone ring and after three buzzes, I answered it. "I was just playing. It's what I used to tell girls when I didn't want to go to their house."

In the crackling of poor connection, his laughter filled the dim, quiet room of the kitchen. "That's a great excuse, though," he chuckled, calming down. "What'd you do today?"

"I stayed in confinement and was held at gunpoint to watch movies," I summarized in a flat tone but he resumed his fit of chortles which made me break as well. "Two out of ten movies. Well, one and a half since I haven't finished my write-up."

"Just take your time," he said, his voice soothe and calm. "Don't stress about it too much."

"I'll try not to," I replied. I turned my head when the doorbell rang. "Hold on." I went over and peeked through the eyehole to see Lilith's round head on the other side. I opened it, greeting her, before letting her in.

"Who's that?" Chris called and I assumed he heard another voice.

"Who's that?" Lilith asked with more intensity, frowning at me. She moved into the kitchen where my phone had been propped up against the paper towel stand.

"Chris, meet my manager, Lilith," I said and she gasped. "Lilith, meet Chris."

"I'm not just her manager I'm her favorite Asian," Lilith replied and I rolled my eyes because she told anyone new this information. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you Chris but my client here has a lot of work to do." Her voice was condescending but anyone could tell it was a joke but I didn't know she was going to hang up.

"What the hell was that for?" I questioned, tilting my head.

"If you wanted to finish on time, you would," she said before going to the sink and washing her hands. I glanced at my phone to see Chris was texting me, probably confused as to why she hung up.

"You're being weird for someone who was super excited yesterday when I told you about him."

"I was until I found out the Christmas Party you were talking about was being hosted by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans is friends with him. I put two and two together and was like, 'oh, she was invited and really wants to go but she can't.' If you really want to go, set him aside and do your job."

"I am doing my job," I replied, watching as she shoved a sushi roll into her mouth. "What about Trisha and Alexander? Have they published something?"

"Yes," she nodded. "And you need to hurry."

"Fine then," I said, grabbing the plate. "Come join me in silence." Lilith followed me into the living room and we plopped on the gray couches. I set my food on the coffee table and leaned into my laptop that had lit on when I touched it.

"What film did you just finish?"

"Little Women," I said. "I really liked it. It was rich and-and beautiful."

"That's most you've said about a movie," she stated. "Go on!" She pulled out her phone as I began working and she became a background character.

Using my clipboard, I elaborated on my bullet points about the film itself. I did point out the key details of the storyline and how it wrapped around the film. I put in that I had read the book and how the movie was close to it. Returning to the film itself, I made sure to write about the casting and actors, the box office, and publicity.

After a long hour, I finished, even self-editing it. I sent it to my real editor who would later have it published. Then,  the filmmakers would see how they did on their work and be elated that I reviewed it.

"What's next?" I asked Lilith.

She looked up from her phone and then back at the list. "Joker."

"Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro," I hummed. "Didn't it just come out three weeks ago?"

"Yeah. Even before the film came out, directors had pre-requested for you to review it."

"Shit," I muttered. I exhaled and clapped my hands, "Alright let's watch."

I set up the private copy of the DVD that was sent to me and put it into the player. Pressing play, the TV began rolling the psychological thriller of one of the best villains in cinematic and comic history.