Evelyn

What does it feel like? When you're standing at the bus stand, in front of the bus that you were supposed to hop on by now,,, but you don't. Because, he is not here yet and you call him...but he is not picking up...So, you choose to wait, just for a "See you soon" and a kiss on the cheeks before the bus takes you far away from him. Behind you, the bus conductor yells, "It's getting late, Ma'am! We won't wait anymore."

You feel a subtle sensation of disgust, slowly crawling up to your neck which makes you feel almost nauseous because you've been set up...again...And you don't know how to deal with it this time. So, you just get inside the bus and take a window seat. When the bus starts moving, you get a call from him, saying he's sorry that he couldn’t make it. But this time, you choose to be the heartless one as you say in a cold voice, "It's over, Arthur. Goodbye!" And you cut the call before he could say anything...but you both know that it's gonna hurt you much more than it'll ever hurt him…

My name is Evelyn Whitewood...And my story starts from where all of it came to an end!

Arthur

What does it feel like? When, as soon as you get off work, you drive to the bus stand to see your girlfriend off and to say, "See you soon, Eve," with a kiss on the cheeks before the bus takes her far away from you. But you reach there only to see the bus leaving for its destination. So, you call her to say that you're sorry for not being able to make it,,,but the only thing you get in response is, "It's over, Arthur. Goodbye!"

And just like that, she ends the two years old relationship on the phone. But you both know that this will affect her more than it will ever affect you...because somewhere in your heart, you know that it's your indifference and your negligence that has pushed her to her limits. Yet, you don't want to admit it. You feel a slight tinge of pain slowly making its way to your heart, making you feel almost sick to your bones…

My name is Arthur Kingsley...And I'm trying to find my way back when I've already lost her!

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Evelyn

You know the Universe clearly loathes you when you have to leave your sweet home early in the morning, just to get caught up in the pouring rain!

"God damn those muddy streets!" I curse under my breath as I hurry up to catch the lift while shoving some people out of my way.

"Pardon!" I say to the young woman whom I pushed past and finally get inside the lift. It was overcrowded but still, I heave a sigh of relief. Just then, the phone starts ringing in my pocket. But, I wasn’t in the condition to pick it up. With a 'Ding' sound, the lift doors split and I step my foot onto the fifth floor.

As soon as I pass the threshold of the meeting room, Josh gloats.

"Took you long enough," he says.

"That's the first thing you say? No pleasantries!" I exclaim and he shrugs, "I know you had a bad morning...So there's no need for 'pleasantries',"

At this, I flop down onto the chair next to him and question, "How do you know?"

He just narrows his eyes at me before opening his mouth yet again, "Whenever you wake up early, it's a bad morning for you, Eve! Your morning starts at 10. It's not unknown to anyone."

Hearing his words, I groan, "C'mon, it's not that obvious, is it?"

But he just laughs it off, making me roll my eyes because Josh never leaves the chance to pull my legs. I was going to say something when Ben came in with Rose and the others from the production house.

But unlike uncivilised Josh, they don't forget to exchange 'Good mornings' with us. After everyone gets seated, Ben, the Director, clears his throat to grab our attention which was already on him.

"As you all know that we are going to start the filming of 'Yours Under the Sky' from the first week of July, which is next month, I and Producer Rose have listed the casts' names and their roles in the movie. But before you all take a look at that, I want to thank Evelyn here for the wonderful story she has gifted us with." Ben says and the sound of applause echoes in the whole room.

"Thank you, thank you." I say while smiling awkwardly. Tell me why it's always so awkward to be praised in front of a group of people?

Ben smiles and clicks on his laptop's keyboard.

"I've emailed the list to all of you. Please, take a look." he says and everyone opens their laptops including me. But as soon as the email flashes in front of me, my eyes get stuck on one particular name,

"Arthur Kingsley as Oliver- Male protagonist."

My mouth becomes agape upon seeing this. No other name mattered to me anymore. In my mind, the one name that was circling around was his.

Beside me, Josh says in a low tone, "You should talk to Ben about replacing him." I didn’t even realise that he was looking at me as soon as he opened his email.

Taking a deep breath, I nod at his words, "I will."

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Standing in front of Ben's cabin, I was pondering over the thought of going inside...Am I truly ready to face the things he would say in defence of Arthur to keep him as the protagonist?

Millions of thoughts are running inside my head but I choose to follow what Josh had said to me earlier. I knock on the glass door and hear him say, "Come in."

I open the door and watch as he smiles, "Oh, Evelyn. Have a seat."

Smiling in return, I walk up to the chair placed in front of his desk.

"I had assumed you left. Do you need to discuss something," he says.

"Yeah, I..um..I had something I needed to talk to you about…" I fidget with my fingers, not sure how to say the things I want to say.

"Go on," he encourages. So, I take a deep breath before saying, "Ben, can you please replace the male protagonist?"

This time, he looks at me with a questioning gaze. Thin lines of confusion could be seen on his forehead.

"But why? Is there something wrong?"

"Ben…" I call out in a helpless tone, knowing that he very well knows what's wrong. But he just keeps staring at me, almost as if he needs me to explain myself. I sigh, "You know about the things that happened between us, don't you? Everybody does!"

Ben doesn’t answer me. He just stands up and walks up towards me before the words leave his mouth, "Evelyn, the things that happened between you both were sad...But that doesn’t mean that you can't face him ever again. You have moved on with your life and he has moved on with his. You both are shining in your own fields. Then where's the problem."

He takes a pause and says, "Trust me, he is perfectly fit for the role of Oliver. No one can do this role better than him!"

I scoff at his words. I should have known that this would happen. So, I stand up.

"He is not fit for the role of Oliver because he is nothing like him." I say before taking long strides to exit the office.

I really need to drink tea right now!

Arthur

I read through the script once more. These words...the way this script is written...they are all so familiar to me.

"So? What do you think?" Ben questions and when I lift my head to see him, he again opens his mouth, "Isn’t it a fabulous piece of literature?"

But instead of answering any of his questions, I stare at him before pointing towards the bright monitor of his laptop and ask him, "It's written by Eve, isn’t it?"

This time, Ben's jolly face turns pale...void of any colours. I tap my fingers on the table as I anticipate his response which doesn’t come.

"Well?" 

"Umm...look Arthur, the storyline is great and…"

"So, it is written by Eve," I confirm while raising an eyebrow, causing Ben to cough a little. He takes a deep breath before replying with a small, slow, "Yes."

I knew it!

"Arthur, I know that it's hard for the both of you to face each other after whatever has happened. But think about it as a career move...I don't think that we'll be able to find a more suitable person than you to do the role of Oliver," he looks at me with expectations clouding in his eyes.

"Alright," I shrug.

"Al-alright?" Ben looks shocked, as if he didn’t expect me to agree so easily. I chuckle, "It seems like you don't want to give me the role!"

"No, no! It's not like that at all...I'm glad that you made the right decision," his lips break into a toothy grin, making his almost wrinkly face more wrinkly.

"But, Ben, a question still remains," I say as I lean towards him, "Does she want me to do the role?" I question and watch Ben's smile disappear yet again.

Soon after a sigh, he says, "She had confronted me regarding this earlier. But don't worry...I've handled everything," he pauses and a low voice follows, "Or at least I will."

"So she doesn’t want it. At least not yet, innit?" I ask while staring curiously towards Ben. His eyebrows join together as deep lines make their way to his forehead.

"....No…"

"Great!" I bang on his glass desk with my fist with enthusiasm, causing the things on it to shake. But ignoring all of it and Ben's questioning gaze, I stand up and forward my hand towards him to shake. He takes my hand in a handshake, his brows still joined together.

"Thanks, Ben. I will do the role." I say before leaving his cabin with a happy grin.

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July came earlier than I had expected and today was the day I've been anticipating. Today is the day the filming starts. As I enter into the set, I see the crew members running from here to there, setting up the set.

I see Ben talking with one of the members and so I approach them.

"Hey, Ben." I wave to get their attention. He turns his head to get a view of me and smiles.

"Arthur! Good morning."

"Good morning. Am I early or late?" I question not seeing any other actors or actresses. Ben laughs, "Well, apparently, a bit of both. Charlotte is already in her vanity van, dressing up and going through her script."

"Alright then. I will also head there now…" I say and ponder over the thought of asking him the question that's been bugging me. Ben senses my hesitation.

"Is there something you want to say?"

"Ah...yeah, umm...is-is Eve going to be here today?" I question and watch Ben smile.

"Of course. She's really picky when it comes to acting out the roles. Plus, she kind of suspects that we would change the storyline!" he said the last part in a whisper, earning a chuckle from me.

"Ok, I should probably head towards my van now. See you later, Ben," while saying this, I start to walk backwards when my back collides with something and the sound of something falling follows.

I quickly turn around only to see none other than Eve standing in front of me...Surprise is written all over her face and her eyes are staring down. I follow her gaze and my eyes grow wide in surprise, too. 

Tea was spilled all over her skirt and it was clear that it would leave a nasty mark on her white clothing. 

"Shit, I'm really sorry!" I blurt out. Eve lifted her gaze and for a moment it seemed like her blue eyes would burn me alive. I was expecting something more than the burning gaze because honestly, Eve is a huge clean freak!

But to my shock, she averts her gaze from me and says in a cold tone, "It's fine."

With that being said, she passes by me and someone shows her the way to the washroom. I almost didn’t notice how quiet it was this whole time. But with her gone, the set becomes alive once again.

I see Ben looking at me with an expression that says, "You have a long way to go, Buddy."

Taking a deep breath, I turn around and start walking towards my van. 

Three years...I'm seeing her after three long years and the first thing that has to happen is me spilling tea all over her dress. Great!