Monday, November 12, 2007

Entry #26

Dialogue Girl
by Dottie Camptown


Megan and I met running lines at Loubelle’s 24-Hour Actors Studio in Culver City. After the 3:00 am workshop she took me to a park and silently led me to the bottom of a ravine. She skipped the kissing.

“Chassie’s got those boys cooped up like a pair of jackrabbits, Ethel,” she says in a sickly voice, unbuttoning her shirt to expose lovely breasts.

The Royal Tennebaums?” It’s a lucky guess. She seems the type to quote movies about genius.

Light begins to take hold of the sky. We’ve already had sex twice in less than an hour, so the fact Megan still interests me is significant. The blanket we are lying on is itchy on my bare back. I turn over, propping myself on my elbows to study her. She really might make it in the movies.

“Lovers talking at sunrise is a cinematic cliché,” I say. “I like you, Megan.”

She adopts a high-class drawl, “The thing with Dickie - it's like the sun shines on you and it's glorious, then he forgets you, and it's very, very cold.

The Talented Mr. Ripley. I could love you.”

“I can't imagine you would ever have had any interest in me, except as an amusingly cranky eccentric curiosity.”

Ghost World.” And she is probably right.

She pushes herself off the ground and straddles me. Her shoulders become one more form to hold the warmth of the emergent sun.

I find it refreshing she has nothing at all original to say.

15 comments:

Abhinav said...

I think you are the first to explore sensuality and love alongwith the autumn leitmotif... Love it!!!
Her shoulders become one more form to hold the warmth of the emergent sun. Scintillating metaphor... Keep it up... And if you can, start a blog... I wanna read more of such arthouse stuff!!!

Sarah Hina said...

Very playful, imaginative interpretation. I love how self-aware your characters are, and how you plucked film dialogue that really fit their banter.

This one feels really authentic to me. I loved it.

Beth said...

The fact that I am not alone in finding The Talented Mr. Ripley a wonderful thing makes me like this one even more.

I like that it's sexual without being bawdy or pornographic.

Dottie Camptown said...

Try as I might whenever I attempt to write something bawdy or pornographic someone gets killed. It was nice to have both my characters be alive post coitus. Thank you for the feedback. I'm enjoying your works, too.

Anonymous said...

i also like the line about her shoulders in the emergent sun. my favorite though is the last line. so telling of both characters at once.

Abhinav said...

Hi, dottie. Am new to Jason's blog. Didn't know you already had a blog. Am off to check it out...
And even I liked the last line very much...pretty bold of you to write this story!

Precie said...

Loved this one! The last line wrapped it up perfectly!

Chris Eldin said...

Quirky and fun!

Hoodie said...

Wow. Maybe YOU sould be in movies. Or writing them, at least.

mendy said...

Brilliant! Love this! Aside from the genius use of allusion to great films, this portrays the complexity of intimate relationships. Sometimes having a conversation can be more intimidating than having sex. I've dated women as intimacy-challenged as Megan. Like the narrator, I was seduced by the mystery too.

Victor Bravo Monchego, Jr said...

Great writing but I bet a can benchpress more than you. Ps - I thought you were striking this week. Does this qualify as crossing the picket line?

Dottie Camptown said...

I checked with my union rep., in the off chance I two-peat on Clarity there is an exemption for compensation in the form of Amazon dollars. A little known loophole.

raine said...

This was great, lol. No pretenses between these two.
An enjoyable read.

Sarah Hina said...

Congrats on 4th place, Dottie!

Yours was my favorite. :)

Anonymous said...

Very interesting character study. I liked the concept too. Clearly, a strong piece and a strong last line. Great mix of a unique idea with high technical skill.

Congratulations on winning 4th Place!!