Only in the Movies by William Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

and white. And it’s romantic. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.” She smiled warmly. She mimicked Bogey’s voice—not very well: “Play it again, Sham.”
    “He didn’t say that,” I corrected. “He said, ‘You played it for her, and you can play it for me.’”
    “Hey, you’re pretty good.”
    No, I’m not, I thought. Bogey would know what to say now. He’d do that thing with the corners of his mouth, then light a cigarette with a wooden match. He’d come up witha snappy line or two and have this gorgeous creature staring into his eyes, lost in admiration. He wouldn’t feel like he was walking through a minefield, terrified of tripping over his own dialogue and making a fool of himself.
    “‘
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine!
’” I heard him say in my mind’s ear. Then I realized I had said the words out loud.
    “You’re not going to quote the whole movie at me, are you?”
    “Sorry. Er, there are more questions,” I said, feeling myself blush.
    We traded answers to the mostly humdrum questions on the list. I got the feeling she had lost interest in the conversation. Her eyes roamed the classroom. Panofsky had given me three Meaningful Looks already, trying to hurry us up.
    “Last one,” I said. “The quality you most admire in the opposite sex.”
    Alba didn’t answer right away this time. She glanced into a corner of the room. She seemed to consider her reply. “All right. A poetic soul.”
    “Seriously?” I replied, searching her face for signs of mockery.
    “I could never love a man who couldn’t express his heart poetically,” she said, shifting her gaze to me. “He’d have to be very articulate and sensitive, and talk to me in beautiful language.”
    And not start a conversation by staring at your chest, I thought.
    “Which, by the way, leaves out most guys I’ve met.”
    We were silent for a moment.
    “Your turn.” Alba broke the stillness. “The thing you most admire in the opposite sex. As if I don’t know,” she smirked.
    “Um …”
    “Yes? Go on.”
    “A profound commitment to world peace,” I said.
    The left corner of her beautiful mouth twisted a little and an amused look came into her eyes.
    “And nice boobs,” I added.
    But the joke crash-landed. Alba Magdalena Benedetti
tsked
, rose gracefully from her chair, and walked away.

SCREENPLAY: “ETERNAL LOVE”
by
JAKE BLANCHARD
    FADE IN:
    EXT. A DESERTED TROPICAL BEACH—DAY
Waves crash on golden sand under a porcelain blue sky. Coconut palms sway rhythmically in the onshore wind.
    CUE MUSIC: violins
    ALBA, barefoot, holding her sandals, enters from left, gazing out to sea.
    CLOSE-UP:
She walks slowly, her eyes on the horizon. The wind lifts a strand of her hair, lets it fall gently against her cheek, presses her silk sarong against her body.
    PAN RIGHT along the beach to JAKE emerging from the forest. JAKE stops, shades his eyes, drops his hand. He begins to run.
    CUT TO:
ALBA sees JAKE, runs toward him.
    SLOW MOTION, CUT TO JAKE then ALBA alternately until:
They come together, embrace, kiss. They drop to their knees, kissing passionately, then fall supine onto the sand. They continue to kiss as the waves crash on the beach, the surf rushing up the sand to envelop them in foam.
    CUE MUSIC: violins rise to a crescendo
    FADE OUT

CHAPTER FIVE
    I LEFT DRAMA CLASS THAT MORNING in a daze, as if my senses had been wrapped in cotton and my brain had slipped out of gear. I bumped into Vanni in the hall, knocking her books out of her arms and all over the floor.
    “Ach! You great lumbering oaf,” she complained.
    “Eh?”
    “What’s wrong with you?”
    When I began to focus, I found her standing in front of me as kids streamed past us, her hand on my arm and an expectant look on her face.
    “You look like you’ve just returned from electroshock therapy,” she said.
    “Eh?”
    “Let me rephrase the question. How was the lobotomy?”
    “The lob—?”
    Vanni