Chapitre 5: The Emergency
"What are you doing here?" Christian said with disbelief. He could feel his blood pressure is rising, which is not a good sign for a hotheaded like him. The feeling of betrayal is what he hates the most; he despised liars. He rather live in painful truth than beautiful lies. One of the main reasons why Christian only writes Non-Fiction, he's not a fan of sugar-coated happy endings and imaginative reality. Disclaimer, it is his personal preference and opinion.
The person, whom Christian is meeting looked at Christian's cold eyes. Before the person could even speak, Christian asked the person again. "Joyce, What are you doing here?" He calmly said while hiding his anger. It was Joyce who showed up. Christian could sense that anytime, Joyce will either have a panic attack or trauma because of his harshness. "I mean, I didn't mean to show rudeness. I am just confused." He reassured her while sitting in front of Joyce. On the other hand, Joyce somehow felt relieved but she is already expecting this before she came into this place. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Haris had an emergency. Instead of postponing, she sent me here." She said trying to act professional.
"Mom, you had a meeting with Mr. Simoune later at 8PM." Joyce shouted from her room as she checks the time. 6:45PM. A few minutes later, she didn't got a response from her mom. She felt something bad happened to her mom, as she snaps because of nervousness. She searched in the kitchen, No signs of Mrs. Haris. On their living room, still no Mrs. Haris. Joyce could hear his unstable breathing as she was approaching Mrs. Haris' bedroom. Her heartbeat pounds faster and faster the closer she gets. She stands in front of the door, slowly reaching the door knob. She gulped while steadily twisting the door knob. She pushed the door bit by bit, taking a peak what happened inside Mrs. Haris' room. She let the door swung open, while looking at Mrs. Haris pissed. "You had little time to prepare and here you are watching a stupid cliché love story. Plus, you made me panic!" Joyce retaliated. Mrs. Haris took his airpods and looked at Joyce confusedly. "Huh, what? I didn't hear you at all." Mrs. Haris mocked her. Joyce let out a deep sigh to calm herself before responding. "Mrs. Haris, you need to prepare because you had a meeting with a famous author named, Christian Simoune at 8PM." Joyce explained, trying her best to be calm. However, Mrs. Haris looked at her confused. "When did I plan this? I don't remember planning a meeting." She asked innocently. Joyce jaw dropped, 'Are you for real?' She thought to herself. "You told me yesterday to send an e-mail that you will be meeting him to check his progress." Joyce said calmly. "Postpone it, I'm still watching a series." Mrs. Haris said in a serious tone. Joyce couldn't believe what she is hearing. It felt fictional, unrealistic and unimaginable. "It's too late--" Joyce did not finished what she was about to say because Mrs. Haris plugs in her airpods. "Be my proxy then. Now, vanish." Mrs. Haris said as she continues to watch. Joyce sighed in defeat, leaving Mrs. Haris alone in her bedroom. She could still hear her old squealing, which sounded weird. 'That's what happened.'
Joyce looked away, trying to hide how embarrassed she is. Christian let out a chuckle, kind of amused on the story that he heard. "I may not be great as my mother, but I am great on my own." Joyce assured Christian. The boy just nodded and gave her a warm smile. "Let's start?" Christian asked, as Joyce nods in agreement. Christian took out the printed storyline, along with the guidelines and showed it to Joyce. On the other hand, Joyce took out his red pen and started reading the storyline.
It took an hour for them to finish giving some notes and discussing how to improve the storyline. The grammar, technicalities and structure are taken into considerations. Surprisingly, Joyce was impressed that in a span of two days, he was able to pull something outstanding like this. He is truly The Summer. She thought. Even Joyce herself, couldn't deny that she was affected by the story. It's been a pleasure for her. I needed to thank Mom after this. She chuckled. Christian looked at her confused of her sudden body language. "Is there something wrong?" Christian worriedly asked. Joyce startled, "No, it's just an impression of me." She said. Finally, she finished her final check and handed the proofread storyline. "It's been a pleasure." Joyce said as she offers a handshake. Christian nods as he reached his right arm to shake her hands. "It's a pleasure as well." Christian replied.
The both of them talk casually for a while before they decided to separate ways. "The taxi is already in front of the cafe, I'll get going." Joyce informed Christian, as she bows down exiting the place. When Joyce is out of his sight, Christian sighed in relief after working. It's finally down to minor revisions. He thought, as he stretches his arms.
Christian left the cafe two minutes after Joyce. He walked in the dark alley, wherein the street lights and the quarter moon are the only source of light. While walking, he thought that he should call Ezekiel so that Christian could give an update to him. Unfortunately, "The number you have dialed is busy at the moment. Please try again la--" He ended the call, just to cut off the 'annoying' service line.
TO: Ezekiel Phillips +12****** (***)
I already finished my appointment to the 'Grammar Analyst.' When do you plan meeting with me? I haven't seen you for ages.
FR: Christian Simoune +14****** (***)
Christian put his mobile phone inside his pocket, as he continues to walk on the dark alley. It doesn't take Christian that long to reach the condominium building. He felt excited when his phone vibrated. To his disappointment,
TO: Christian Simoune +14****** (***)
Hello Mr. Simoune. To continue using your mobile subscription, please go to ***** and update your account. Thank you.
FR: Verizon
"I thought so wrong." He sighed in disappointment, as he enters the building. He chose to use stairs but he gave up and takes the elevator, on the third floor when he realized that he lives at the twelfth floor. When the elevator reached twelfth floor, he exits the elevator and proceeds to his unit. In his surprise, his unit is unlocked. What? I locked it when I went out. Maybe a thief! He immediately barged in when he thought of a thief. "What's with the surprise look? You gave me your spare key because you always forget your key inside." A familiar voice spoke. Huh?
Christian was out for grocery. He rushed to the supermarket before it gets crowded. However, when he finished buying the stuffs he needed to sustain his living, he grope his pocket just to find out he forgot his key. He took a taxi back to his condo, and runs to his condo unit. He violently twist the door knob but it wouldn't budge. He started to panic and dialed Ezekiel's number. "I forgot my key inside, meet me at my condo unit." He said, as he ends the call immediately not giving Ezekiel a chance to speak. A few minutes later, Christian is now walking back and forth, and the devil finally showed up. "I don't know what to do, I forgot--" Christian stopped blabbering when Ezekiel showed him a key. "You could have just go to the receptionist and ask for a key, Dummy." Ezekiel said as he unlocks Christian's unit. "You should get an extra one." Ezekiel suggested, as he stars to walk away. "Thank you, but aren't you coming over?" Christian asked. "Nope, I'm still not yet done with fixing a famous author's grammar." Ezekiel mocked him. Christian glared at him, slamming the door behind him.
Christian accepted Ezekiel's suggestion to get a spare key, so he went to the locksmith. "Kindly just deliver it to this address." Christian said, as he shows the address to the locksmith. He went back to his condo so that he could rest for a bit. An hour had passed, someone is calling him and he answered it immediately. "Why did you send me your spare key?" The person on the other line said. "Just keep it in case of emergency. Without my permission, you can't show up in my unit. I trust you Mr. Phillips." Christian said. Soon, he ended the call.
"Ezekiel Phillips, what are you doing here. Haven't we made an agreement." Christian said as he clears his throat. "I just came here to celebrate your productivity. It rarely happens." Ezekiel teased him. Christian ignored him and went to his room. Ezekiel followed him, as he taps Christian's shoulder. "Congratulations! I know you'll win this." Ezekiel said softly while giving his gift to Christian. Christian looked at him surprised, because something like this never happens. "You better be sure that this is a gif--" Christian was stunned when he opened the gift wrap. "Don't you like it?" Ezekiel smirked. "A FREAKING DICTIONARY!" Christian shouted, as Ezekiel couldn't hold his laughter anymore. 'He is getting on my nerves!' Ezekiel patted his shoulders, giving him an encouraging smile. "That's just a teaser gift. I'll give you my gift when you finished writing it. Plus, it will help you widen your vocabulary." Ezekiel chuckled, as he takes his cotton fabric jacket. "WHAT'S NEXT, ENCYCLOPEDIA?" Christian complained. Ezekiel let out a small laugh. "Got it." He said before leaving Christian's condo unit.
Christian feels irritated, pissed and disappointment. He took his phone out to text Ezekiel, "Thank You." He crawled to his bed, deciding to just continue his work tomorrow at his office since it only deals with minor revisions. 'You never showed up. You ignored my text. And you gave me a freaking dictionary to tease me?' He groaned in frustration. Well, maybe I'm overreacting. It's just two days or three, silly me. He chuckled.
Christian is used to Ezekiel's irritating presence. He was his editor since he started writing a novel. Christian's editor never changed, it was always Ezekiel. The main reason is that no one could stand how stubborn Christian is. He hardly accepts changes in his novel. But Ezekiel believed in him more than Christian believes in himself. Some editors changed the way Christian wanted to express his thoughts through his novel. Even though the changes are not that big, he hates it. Some are asking, why did he even had an editor. Christian needed mature opinion regarding to his novel, not to change what he wants. And as an editor, they are the first one to read the story and give comments about it. Also, he needed someone to help him improve the plot. Improve is different to change. He just hates it when the flow of the story was completely changed. Lastly, Christian may be creative. He is one of the prominent writers in today's era, but his grammar is off. Some editors tried to understand his sentiments but they failed. They are not even close. Only Ezekiel, alongside with his close friends knew what his heart is trying to express. That's why he only had one editor. Despite of him being stubborn, he produced novels which made the readers feel the emotion. Thanks to Ezekiel.
"The deadline is near. I'm nervous but I know I got this. I had Ezekiel to support me." He unconsciously said before falling asleep. Or maybe not.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone