Page 7 of The Ending is the Best Part
‘Okay.’ She laughed.‘You get me, and I’ll get you.’
We both turned round to the barista, who was watching this interaction with utter bewilderment.He took our orders – she ordered me another chai latte and I got her a vanilla iced latte.I try not to judge people, but ordering an ice latte in that icy winter weather is really strange behaviour.Who am I kidding?I was totally judging.
I turned to my new acquaintance.
‘Thank you so much.You really didn’t have to do this.’
‘Honestly, it’s no bother.I would have felt awful all day if I hadn’t tried to do something to make it up to you!I’m Amira by the way.I wish we’d have met under better circumstances,’ she said sheepishly.
From that point onwards we were the best of friends.Who knew that spilling a hot drink would be the foundation of such a beautiful friendship?
‘So?’ they both say simultaneously.
I texted them earlier with an SOS and their expectations are high.
‘You’ll never guess what happened at work,’ I say with a dramatic flair.
‘Does it have something to do with Xander by any chance, Yara?’ Maddie says.
‘Am I that predictable?’ I respond.I don’t think that I complain about him that much… do I?
‘No, of course not.It was just… a wild guess?’ Amira says unconvincingly.
But at the same time Maddie says, ‘Yeah, you really are that predictable.What’s he done now?Told you thatLove Actuallyis overrated?Stolen one of your highlighters?’
‘This time I have a seriously good reason for it.You know how Meagan was going to pick the lead writers for the season finale and I had a big meeting where Ithoughtshe was going to give it to me.Guess who came in and ruined it?’
‘Well, we don’t really have to guess because you just confirmed that it was Xander.’
‘Thank you, Maddie, but for the sake of the story just play along, okay?’ I roll my eyes.I explain the situation.That we’re going to have to write together, and Xander being weird about whose name comes first.How this is all going to be a complete disaster and that the next few weeks of work are going to be hellish.That it will inevitably end up with Xander getting top billing, with me as footnote beneath his powerfully posh name.And my writing career, which my parents have been against from the start, won’t have advanced in the slightest and I ought to just retrain as a lawyer like they keep suggesting I do.
‘Okay, girl, you’re totally valid in your feelings because you have been talking about this for months,’ Amira says.I open my mouth to thank her for being so understanding but before I get a chance, she carries on, ‘Although don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic…’
‘Try and see it from Meagan’s side as well.Xander is talented, isn’t he?’ Maddie continues, ‘You’ve said that, so you can’t deny it now.Don’t you think this will be a really cool opportunity for both of you?’
‘But it just sucks!I’ve been waiting for something like this for years.This was meant to be my chance to prove my parents wrong and for them to take me seriously,’ I say with a sigh.
As much as I love them, I can’t help thinking again that my mum and dad think that I’m wasting my life in choosing this career.Both my parents are the type who want their children to become one of three things: a solicitor, a doctor or an engineer.Especially my mum.I understand where she’s coming from, considering our cultural background.Immigrant parents sacrifice everything for their children and they want to see that all of that struggle was worth something and it has to be presented to them in a way that makes sense for them.I barely admitted it to myself, but I’d started to think of the finale as my big chance to make them proud of me.I could show them my name at the start of the episode, ‘Written by Yara Aslan’.This could have finally been the moment where they finally believe that I’m on the right path, even if it isn’t the one they envisioned for me.But now my name,their name, could be stuck below Xander’s.
‘We know and that seriously sucks, but on the bright side of things this could really be a good thing!’ says Maddie.‘Plus, he’s super hot.There are worse things to be looking at while you’re working.’
‘Oh my God, stop!I can’t even see him that way, he annoys me so much.Plus you know what he did at that party!’
‘Sure, babe, but we all have eyes, and that was years ago.You seriously need to let that go.’ Amira laughs.‘People can change when you get to know them.’
‘Maybe give Xander a chance and he might end up surprising you?’ Maddie says with a pointed look.
‘Yeah, maybe…’ I trail off.No matter what Amira thinks, people don’t just change overnight.And over my dead body am I going to forget what happened that night three years ago…
Chapter Four
Five Weeks Left
Imull over my friends’ words for the next few days:Give Xander a chance and he might end up surprising you.It’s been a whole week since the meeting in Meagan’s office and we’ve yet to properly sit down together.Although some calls and online meetings here and there mean that we’re making progress.Albeit slowly.Our conversations have been vague brainstorming sessions, but we haven’t written a single line of dialogue, let alone a scene.I’ve felt Xander avoiding me, which I’m almost glad of because I’ve been avoiding him too.I don’t want to give him my best ideas.However, we need to really get a move on as the deadline is already approaching.One week gone, we only have five left.
It’s 9 a.m.and I’ve just arrived at our office with my chai latte in hand.The building is grand.I mean what kind of multimillion-pound show wouldn’t invest in a central location and panoramic views?I greet Patrick, today’s doorman, with a ‘Good morning, how was your weekend?’
He grunts in response.When I first started, I thought he didn’t like me, but I quickly learned that he was like that with pretty much everyone.Well, everyone except for the devil himself…
