Page 67 of Just for Fun
Pushing everything to the side, I wake up my computer, deciding the large screen would work better than my tablet.
“Sketches are good,” he says when I open the first set. “Maybe a little less color.”
I stare at the screen unsure of what he’s talking about. “There’s too much color?”
“Yeah, definitely not on brand with our current work out there,” Alex informs me.
I try to look at things from his perspective, but I don’t see it. All I see is Zara’s face, with her hair flowing down her back and bright eyes twinkling at me.
“What’s up with this new character? She reminds me of someone,” Alex says. “I think that’s what’s messing this up.” Sweat breaks down my back. “And a love story? Since when?”
Anger rises inside of me the more he critiques my work. As a rule, he always does it, giving me a new perspective as I work on things and helping me develop the stories when I get stuck.
This time, though, it hits way too close to home. I don’t like anything he has to say about Zara. He doesn’t like her face. It’s too plain, he says. Her hair is too brown, and her eyes are too wide. Her body is too thin, hardly any shape to it. Customers won’t like it.
I finally snap. “This is just a draft. And if you don’t like it, don’t commit it for production.”
His eyebrows go up in surprise. “Why so touchy? She the virgin?”
My jaw might actually break from all the pressure I apply to it. “No,” I manage to say.
“Hmm…”
He stares at the screen for a while longer, then turns around and leaves the room. That gives me no choice but to follow him out.
“What’s the status of the game coming out in December?” He is in boss mode now.
“It’s in the final stages now, just fixing some minor things based on the feedback from the focus groups.”
“That’s good.” The tone of his voice implies the opposite, but I don’t comment on it. He looks around my living room like he’s lost and doesn’t remember where he is.
“You okay, man?” I finally ask him. Maybe something bad happened.
He snaps at me. “Why wouldn't it be?”
I roll my eyes because I don’t have time for this. “You came here just to give me a hard time?”
He seems startled by my question. “I came here because I didn’t know where else to go.”
Now it is my turn to act surprised. I don’t even know what to say to that. He’s a mess, more so than I am.
“You wanna go out for drinks later?” That’s always my backup plan. When nothing else works, we’ll go and get a good buzz going.
“Yeah,” he nods in appreciation.
He continues standing in the middle of my living room, staring at the floor.
“You okay?” I repeat.
His head snaps back, and his eyes are blank. “She said she is done with me for good.”
I frown, but then it clicks. “Mona?”
His face turns into a grimace as he presses a hand to his chest. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
As far as I’m concerned, this has been a long time coming. The only surprising thing about it is the shock on Alex’s face.
