“I’m Mark by the way, Mark Whitehall,” Mark extended his hand for a greeting, and she gently took it and shook it.
“Elise, Shaw.”
“So, Ms. Shaw…” he took a deliberate pause to see if she was married or not, but seeing no reply and only a faint smile form on Elise’s face, Mark continued, “What brings you to the fabulous town of San Rafael?”
“Work. My company wants to do a photoshoot outside Los Angeles.”
“So you are a model? That’s amazing!” Mark exclaimed softly, not to startle the other passengers in the bus.
“It’s nothing much. What about you?”
“Oh, I just passed out of college. Just got an internship at a movie studio. If all goes well, I’ll become a junior screenwriter there, by the end of the year.”
…
They conversed about their lives so far, and without knowing it, they had arrived at San Rafael.
“Say, Elise. How do I contact you. I’m sure you won’t be staying in town for too long.”
“Oh shucks. How rude of me,” she pulled out a paper towel from her pocket, and used a pen to write her landline number on it.
“But only call after 7 in the night or before 9 in the morning. All other times I am at work. Oh yeah, I will still be in town for 5 days, and this number is for my place in Las Angeles, so only call after that.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure to inform you when I get my things sorted out and get a landline myself.”
“If you want to meet before that…”
“I know where to find you. As long as you have free time, I’m free.”
Mark smiled as he raised his hands for a hug, but then noticed the single palm Elise had raised for a handshake.
“Ahem,” clearing his throat, he put his hands down and raised only one to shake her hand, only for her to have changed her handshaking gesture to a hug. The comical scene continued for a while before the two finally embraced each other rather awkwardly.
Soon, they parted ways and Mark went to the address of LucasFilms. This time around, it was a much better area, with a proper flat in a moderately large commercial building.
“Hello. I’m Mark Whitehall, the intern for junior screenwriter. I’m actually new in town, so I was wondering if you could tell me where I can go to rent myself a nice and cheap place,” Mark said with a cheeky smile on his face, and the blush from the previous embarrassment not having disappeared yet.
“Oh, there is a really good real-estate management company right next door. I think they’re called Sam’s Realty. It’s cheap and knows all the good spots. A lot of our staff goes there.”
“Thank you so much, Ms....”
“It’s Mrs. Butler.”
“You’re married? Surely you’re joking right? How could someone so young be married already. You must be what 19?”
Mark joked with the receptionist, trying to make a good impression. He had seen movies where stuff like this often got the hero into positive situations because the receptionist in many cases could directly talk with the boss.
After that, he left for the neighbouring flat, with the plan of getting a place to rent at a price just enough to be able to afford with his current job, with enough money for daily necessities, and a little extra.
…
Entering the new apartment he had rented for 6 months, with a monthly payment option, Mark was satisfied. He had even received a typewriter for free as it came along with the apartment.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Considering that personal computers were still almost a decade away from becoming a common household commodity, Mark would have to make do with this medieval-looking contraption for the novels he would be writing.
Anyways, it had taken him the whole day with the agent to find a place close enough to LucasFilms, but also cheap enough for him to be able to afford it and survive financially. After all, he had his student loans to take care of.
Tired from the day of travelling and searching for a home, Mark went off to sleep, and woke up the next day refreshed.
‘Now that I am here, and work doesn’t start for another few days… should I begin planning out my novel writing? Elise will be at work the whole day, and she’ll only be free at night-time. I’ll go and find her tonight at her hotel. For now, let’s begin writing my first novel. What should it be?’
After thinking for a while, and going through a few options, Mark finally settled on a single one and began writing information he needed to get sorted out before he even began planning the story.
‘Since I will be using the original plot line, but instead of South Korea being the setting and Korean characters, I will use America as the setting with American characters. Thus, I need to adjust all the characters, their backgrounds and their motivations accordingly, else it would feel too out of place.’
‘Plus, turning a web novel into something that I will likely submit to novel magazines, the style of writing will also have to change a bit, becoming more formal and more descriptive.’
Spending the rest of the day just brainstorming, Mark breathed in the fresh air as he left his apartment and headed to the hotel not too far from him, only 15 minutes away while walking at a leisurely pace.
…
“Hello, I’m looking for an Elise Shaw. Could you tell her Mark Whitehall is here.”
“Certainly,” the hotel receptionist nodded while wringing up a number.
The hotel itself was not the best hotel in town, nor was it the worst. It was somewhere in the middle, with decent rooms and prices. It was a hotel that the real-estate agent had recommended for Mark to spend the night at if they had not found the suitable apartment for him by the previous night.
“Please have a seat. She will be down in 10 minutes,” the man said with a smile that was so obviously fake, but that was what working in the service industry did to you.
“Thank you so much,” Mark smiled back, but this time it was a genuine smile as he went over the small couch and sat down, picking up the newspaper.
[26th August, 1974…]
After about 15 minutes of waiting, Elise came down in some normal clothes. Just as how Mark was wearing some baggy pants and a t-shirt, she was also wearing jeans and a crop-top.
“Hello there!” Mark waved as he put down the newspaper and walked up to Elise, who put on a beautiful smile in return.
After leaving the hotel, the duo walked down the moderately filled night street while making some small-talk.
“So where to?” Mark ended up being the first to ask, as he did not have a plan nor the money for a proper plan. This was not a date after all, he was just getting to know her.
“Well…”
“Okay Elise, I’m gonna be honest with you. I don’t have much money, not like on me, but even at the moment. So if you want, we can just head back to the hotel, and pretend we never met…”
“… I don’t have much money either, truthfully. I’m just a newly hired model with no name, and not a really good figure either. With my current body, I will never become a fashion model, and will at most end up being a model for clothes stores locally or something similar.”
“And I’m just an intern for a small company’s junior screenwriter… You know what, I know just the place.”
Taken Elise hand while interlocking his own fingers with hers, Mark swiftly walked to a place he knew was already expanding all over the US, and was likely already a really large franchise.
“McDonald’s?”
“Yup! Trust me, I’m sure you won’t be allowed to eat a lot of this stuff, but having it once a while should be alright. But make sure to fix your diet proportionally, it has an insane amount of calories.”
“How many?” Alice asked with narrowed eyes.
“Who knows? However, even for a renowned model, as long as you only have this stuff once a month, it will have little to no effect on your body. Come on, just trust me!”
Mark went ahead and bought two BigMacs, one for himself and one for her, along with a Soda for each of them.
…
“Oh my god! Dish ish amashing!” Alice exclaimed in delight as her eyes opened wide, while she continued chewing the food that tasted too good to be true.
“I know. Even if I’m poor, I can still find the best food I can afford. But, have you never had fast-food before?”
“Nope!”
‘Strange…’ Mark was confused by the situation, but still shrugged.
“Alright then. Ma lady, let’s get going shall we? We have a night under the open skies to enjoy.”
Of course, Mark did not make Elise drink, and neither did he. The two were sober throughout, and brought her back to her hotel by 11 in the night, rather responsibly and went back to his apartment right after.
‘It was a rather enjoyable night… I’ll try again on the day after.’