dopamine : luke

clio

clio is experiencing the worst case of writers block.

her writers block hasn't been going on for a few minutes, no. it hasn't been going on for hours. it hasn't been going on for weeks, either.

it's been going on for three months.

she moved to paris, france to hopefully look for inspiration for her newest romance novel. she wanted to go to the "city of love" so that hopefully, she'll find the inspiration she badly needed.

however, in the three months of her living in paris, she hasn't written a single thing.

yes, she tried to write. she tried to write so bad. she'd stay in coffee shops for hours on end, or walk around the city, or sit on a park bench, just watching couples she can hopefully make a story out of.

but they just weren't enough. she'd start writing blurbs, a few paragraphs here and there, but the inspiration she gets would never be enough for her to actually continue the story.

now, she's plopped down on her seat, her elbows on her desk, with her face in her hands, as she stares at the blank laptop screen in front of her.

she could make her life way easier, if she'd just go on google and search for plot inspirations, right? with just one click, she'd instantly have all these ideas ready for her.

but clio hasn't used the internet ever since she graduated from college. after college, she just let the internet world go. she decided that for her to really be a good writer, her ideas needed to come from her and her alone.

"maybe just a quick peek?" she whispers to herself, her finger hovering over the "g" icon on her desktop.

"google," she whispers to herself, "i just need one good idea."

"four years," she sighs, "i haven't used the internet in four years. is this really worth it?"

she graduated college when she was 20 years old. she's twenty four now, and it's been a solid four years of her not using the internet.

she'd talk to her friends and family over text. and if not, she'd want to do it the old-fashioned way by writing letters.

when it came to news updates, clio would have her sister, athena, update her everyday about only the important things.

"clio, you'd be better off living under a rock." athena would say whenever clio asks for news updates.

clio would just shrug, and say that life was more peaceful without the internet.

"oh, fuck it." she mumbles to herself, as she clicks on the "g" icon.

after four years, her eyes meet the all-too-famous google search engine.

she presses her fingers down on the keyboard tiles, feeling more and more disappointed at herself as she types each letter.

"romance plot ideas." she mumbles to herself, cringing so hard at what she had just typed.

"four years of literature, and i'm really out here searching this?" she whispers to herself again, "what the actual fuck."

she takes in a deep breath, and presses the "enter" button.

just as the page where numerous links and topics flashes, her laptop dies. the screen turned pitch black, and she found herself looking at her reflection. huge eyebags, a messy bun, crusty lips and all.

"stupid," she mumbles again, "why didn't i pay attention to the battery warning?"

she rummages through her drawer, trying to feel the familar laptop charger on her fingertips.