The First Draft

Chapter 7

"What do you mean you can't meet today?"Spencer asked Eleanor over the phone.

She said in a low tone, "I absolutely can't meet you today. In fact, I can't meet you before next week. I am sorry."

"But, Eleanor our work..."He complained.

However, before he could complete he heard someone's voice on the other side. A voice said in a flirtatious tone, "Oh my Eleanor! I missed you so much."

She moved her phone away and said, "Really, Derek? That's sweet. But, I can't talk to you now. I am busy. Please go and enjoy the party."

"You missed our meeting because of a date?" Spencer asked in an irritating voice.

"Bold of you to assume I have a boyfriend. It's complicated. I will explain when I meet you, "Saying this she hung up the phone

What just happened? Spencer was angry for some reason. For the past 3 days, they talked every day through video call. Today, they were supposed to meet up. But, she refused. Just like that? That too for some Derek.. who wasn't even her boyfriend.

Spencer laid on his bed and kept thinking. No, he couldn't let this thought disturb him. What should he do now? Right! He was supposed to change the male character. Now, how should he draw him... he thought for a moment but nothing came to his mind.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was none other than John. He jumped into Spencer's bed, "Hi, brother! Why are you looking so down?"

Spencer replied, "Nothing special."

John looked at the ceiling and smiled thinking of something.

Spencer smirked, "But I think something happened to you, my dear brother."

John smiled, "You can tell? I am an intern in the fashion magazine department. So, today I met a girl...."

Spencer thought, "Ah.. young love. Wait, I am young too. "

John continued, "Her name is Amelia. She is an intern too. We have been paired for a project. So, we talked a little bit. And she gave me a nickname... Javi."

"Javi?"

"Yes! Like John's J and Victor, my middle name's Vi. She said Jovi doesn't sound cool so it's Javi."

"What's wrong with calling you by your name?"

"Apparently, John sounds like an old man."

"Woah... that's all."

"What?"

"That's all you have to say?"

"Well, yes. What else were you expecting? I just told you what happened to me today. You tell me, what's going on with Eleanor?"

Spencer didn't respond and ran his fingers through his curly brown hair.

John shook him, "Bro! What's wrong?"

Spencer sighed, "We were supposed to meet today but she went to a party with her boyfriend." He said air quoting "boyfriend."

John was confused, "But, she doesn't have one. In fact, she has never had a boyfriend."

"How do you know?"

"We are friends in a battle royal game so we talk often." John opened the game and showed it to Spencer.

Spencer said, "Maybe she didn't tell you. Now get lost I need to draw the male lead."

John pointed at himself and raised his other hand, "Me! Me! Draw me!"

Spencer shrugged," I can't. She needs an average-looking guy, not a monkey."

John made funny faces towards Spencer and Spencer laughed. Soon, John went away.

Spencer sat at his table and started sketching. He scratched his head. He couldn't think of anything. Finally, he decided that he would draw the character based on himself.

He drew the male lead with curly brown hair like his, his jawline was pretty visible. He gave the character his favourite type of clothes that is- folded t-shirts. This time, he smiled to himself. This character looked perfect. Then, he looked at the female character he drew... something was not right.. something was missing. He took the paper and threw it in the dustbin. He decided to draw the female character again.

This entire week was terrible. His mother got a job in a health camp so she has to stay somewhere else for 3 months. Both Spencer and John struggled to make their food.

Then, one day after 2 weeks of Eleanor ghosting Spencer, she and Penny arrived. Penny was in her normal which was kill mode. Eleanor took a seat and gave Spencer a box which had HOME-MADE FOOD. John was literally on the verge of crying.

John said, "Thanks a lot for this food. I don't have to eat my brother's poisonous food anymore."

Spencer protested, "It's not that bad you know." Actually, it was not bad rather it was the worst even he knew that.

Eleanor said, "Take this as an apology for not coming that day and the next day."

Penny said, "Whatever. Now, I have to read the manuscript."

John said goodbye to everyone and went to his internship.

Eleanor gave her the manuscript. Penny read it for some time then she kept the manuscript on the table.

She said in a frustrated tone, "What's wrong with you? It's the start of the story and you already sound so emotionally detached from the characters. Why are the characters so weird? They don't even behave normally."

Eleanor replied, "I thought they were fine.."

Penny continued"No, they are not."

Taking her bag, Penny got up, "I can't believe I wasted my time on this. Call me when you have a decent manuscript." Saying this, she left.

Spencer kept staring at Eleanor. He was expecting her to do something- cry or be sad maybe. But, nothing happened. Rather, she slowly pulled a chocolate bar from her bag and started eating it aggressively.

He waited and stared at her. When he realised that she had no intention of leaving, he asked, "Would you like something?"

She replied in a manner normally seen in high-class families, "Yes, please. I would like to drink some tea."

He nodded and quickly made her a cup of tea. He placed the cup in front of her.  She swirled her hair and took the cup, then started drinking. This was the first time he noticed that everything all of her actions right now made it seem like she was from a rich family. She wasn't like this before.

She drank the tea and put the cup down. She straightened her back and looked directly at him. She said, "I apologise for missing my meeting that day. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I couldn't attend our meeting. After that some other things happened so I didn't get the chance to meet you."

To be honest, her actions made him blush a little. She was quite attractive and he knew that from the first day. But, the dress she was wearing tonight suited her perfectly. Her black hair was falling by the sides and covered her face. She fixed her hair every time. Maybe, he should draw the female character based on her.

She caught him staring at her for a bit too long and raised her eyebrows. He thought it was the perfect chance to distract her from whatever Penny said.

So, he laughed awkwardly, "Why are you speaking formally?"

Suddenly, she went back to her normal behaviour. She fixed her glasses and said, "Sorry, I still can't get that party out of my mind."

He asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what was that party for?"

She sighed.

He signalled with his hand, "No need to tell if you are not comfortable."

She said, "No, if you are going to work together, you should know some things about me."

Author's note: A large chapter...hope you liked it. Please share your views on this chapter. No one commented on the last few chapters this is a bit heartbreaking. But, I will still work on this story for my silent readers.
The next chapter will have Eleanor's backstory.