Читать книгу Tabloid Teacher - Dominique Butler - Страница 7

Sam picked up the remote but just stared at the TV screen. Who am I kidding? Without cable there’s no real reception. She turned on the TV anyway and after flipping through the three barely visible channels, she turned it off again. Maybe I should read a book. Sam picked up the nearest book and flipped through the pages. She bought this book two weeks ago and her favorite author wrote it, but she couldn’t get past the first chapter. Her love for horror and suspense novels had dwindled lately. Partly because it made her too jumpy at night and she would get up three or four times to check the alarm system, but also because they had just stopped appealing to her. The news seemed like enough of a horror story to keep her from sleeping every night. She had taken up reading the Bible lately, and found that it was quite the soap opera. Men married several women and begot children with concubines! Interesting. After a while though she found that she was reading only her favorite parts and had given up on reading it, all the way through, like she would a novel. Several times, she had taken her children’s books and read them. She could get into some of those series, but it rarely took her more than a day to finish. She swirled her drink in her right hand. I should of added ice. Oh well, I’m not getting up now. The apartment began to grow dim as the sun set. Sam picked up the remote again. Oh yeah, the DVD I rented last week is still in the player. I really should return that. She switched on the TV then used her toes to slide the DVD remote to where she could reach it without moving too much. I love this movie she thought as the screen filled with the chiseled chest of Jake Jameson before the camera slowly backed away. His smiling dimpled face was caught in several angles as he ran along the beach then plunged into the water. It was a ridiculous movie really, with a shallow plot and a fairy tale ending. The dialogue was entertaining because of how he delivered the lines. It was hard to tell if the movie should be viewed seriously, or was a cheap shot at many of the other romantic comedies. Sam preferred to believe it was a cynical look at Hollywood love stories. There could have been no dialogue at all and Sam would have still watched it just to see Jake Jameson. He had a perfect smile and sparkling eyes accentuated by laugh lines. His jovial spirit was conveyed in every part that he played. Sam once saw him in an action movie and she had the same feeling of, is this for real, as she watched him fight an army of bad guys, smiling the entire time and delivering punch lines that were so dry they were funny. This particular movie threw in shots of him running along the beach, even though it had absolutely nothing to do with the story line.

Sam sank back into the couch. She was now lost in the plot as a solemnly clad Jake accidentally bumped into a sex therapist on the street knocking both their laptop bags off their shoulders. Of course, they both accidentally grab the wrong bag. He discovers the mistake when he opens up a power point presentation on proper sexual contact to stimulate a woman instead of the presentation he was supposed to make about the new line of software his company was introducing. The two begin to get to know each other while they search through details on the laptops to identify the owner and retrieve their own computers. Then when they meet to exchange the machines Jake critiques her presentation on the proper way to stimulate a woman sexually. She attempts to correct him and the two engage in an epic love scene fuelled at first by a desire to prove each other wrong then by sheer unbridled passion. In the end, they fall in love and develop software that will allow couples to learn more about each other’s sexual needs in the privacy of their own homes. The movie ended with the two, barely clad, walking hand in hand along the beach before they exchange kisses silhouetted against the setting sun.

Sam sighed as the closing credits ran up the screen. Then she went back to the main menu where she chose the special features to access the actor interviews and commentary about the film. Jake Jameson’s interview was as cliché as the movie itself. Everyone he worked with was wonderful. The love scene was his favorite scene he admits with a wink. He didn’t mind rehearsing that one at all. He tried to identify with the character who was an up and coming software designer who made a career ending faux-pas and begins searching through the woman’s computer initially bent on revenge. Then he develops a genuine interest and connects with her through her friends’ e-mails. Sam could just stare at those twinkling eyes forever. It didn’t even seem as though he took his own words seriously. He just laughed and loved everyone he worked with and had the best time.

Must be nice. She thought as she considered the loads of back-stabbing that actually took place at an elementary school. Not only did he make his job seem wonderful, but he got paid millions for doing it. She, on the other hand, barely made ends meet on the salary she made as a teacher even though she also taught night school at the nearest senior high. Maybe this movie will improve society. She thought sarcastically. The camera zoomed in close as Jake thanked the viewers and bid them all farewell. At least he’s eye candy.