An Ordinary Life

Chris Kemper sat in traffic, bored and disconnected from the world around him. He was miserable, tired of the weekly grind as it was called. He sat in his older Honda and thought about how he got here. Not here being the current traffic light that was going to remain red indefinitely, but here as in his life.

He'd done everything that had been asked of him and this is where it got him. Stuck in traffic on the way to his awful job.

He pulled in to work and made his way in to the office. He came in and sat down to begin his day. This job was testing him. The most boring assignment he had ever had. This is it? he thought.

Working as a temp, Chris liked to keep his options open. In this case, he had gone to college right out of high school and after 3 years and countless classes; he had decided a break was needed. He was currently still on this break. If that's what you want.

This is how the script was written. Chris had to be likable for the reader to be engaged, yet interesting enough to be worthy of reading about. He couldn't seem too interesting though, he had to be believable.

Chris lived with Heather, his girlfriend of almost a year. Heather was a couple of years younger and taking classes at the local community college. She waited tables by night at a popular bar and grille in town. Heather had lived in Hillsdale for 3 years and would like nothing more than to leave. Heather was attractive, as this is what the reader would want. She was smart and yet working a job she is overqualified to do.

What would happen to Chris and Heather had to be worth writing about. No one would want to read about their everyday lives. They could watch any of the countless reality tv programs for that. Something was going to happen to Chris Kemper's life that would change it forever. Or would it be Heather's?

They had been waiting for quite some time now. Chris and Heather knew they were characters. Lead characters to be exact, and as lead characters, their roles had been changed drastically in the last few drafts. Chris had begun as a professional athlete, quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He had enjoyed this role more than any others, and was furious with the rewrite.

The next draft had Chris as Doctor Kemper, fresh out of Med school. Chris had been a gifted young man. He had started medical school at 20, where he had met Heather, a fellow prodigy and a romantic relationship had blossomed. Both were good looking and brilliant, they had a great thing going. Heather may have been expecting. Then, just like that, scrapped.

Chris had been a drug addict in another disposed attempt. Abusive, and unable to shake his addiction, he had lived a miserable life. Heather had suffered through several of Chris's relapses. It seemed every time Chris had turned the corner, he would relapse and the cycle would continue.

In fact, Chris had been a screenwriter, a surgeon, a surging entrepreneur, an Oscar-winning actor,a decorated war hero, world renown musician, and yes, a drug addict. He had been a prince in a magical kingdom and a knight in a medieval themed novel, until that was tossed. Chris Kemper had been worked into some quite memorable scripts and now a case of severe writer's block had him in serious limbo. The boredom of an everyday life was infuriating.

The only constant had been Chris and Heather. They had been together through it all, although their current life as commoners was killing them. But they couldn't die, unless of course, it was written that way.

Chris and Heather had been sitting in this current rough draft for months now. Sitting in a notepad, inside of a desk drawer, they were destined to live out this current script until rescued by an author with an imagination.

He would go to his menial job, and work every day. Then he would come home to Heather. The current situation had gone on and on. After living out the most exciting of lives, it was hard to live a normal life day after day. At least being an addict wasn't boring, he thought. Just kill me off if this is it,

Heather was not thrilled about the arrangement either. As the romantic interest of this memorable character, from athlete to prince, she was now....a waitress? Taking night classes, and struggling to make ends meet was not her idea of a great novel. First Lady maybe, but a waitress, in Hillsdale?

Together, they were ready for a new chapter, What kind of lame, sorry excuse for an author leaves two great characters out in the cold? Am I not believable as a prince, or a rock star? Oh no, I'm just Chris Kemper, your basic temp! Who would buy this drivel?

The drivel, was the work of Riley Skillers, a one hit wonder suspense-thriller author. Incision, Skiller's first novel, had been a New York Times best seller. With this, Riley had made a good chunk of change and the success had gone to his head. He had moved to the city, and spent the money. Now he was desperate. He was on a deadline for his followup, but had been unable to churn up anything worth pursuing.

In this latest manuscript, he had planned to write about an ordinary couple, living normal, every day lives. Skiller had big plans for the two of them, he just needed inspiration.

So it seemed something was finally going to happen for them one afternoon as Chris arrives home from work. Heather is waiting for him, hoping a change is in the works. Chris walks into the apartment, his eyes on the floor. He asks Heather if she's heard the news. Their witty banter had not been written in months, so conversation had been lacking. She jumps to her feet, Oh, thank God, finally...a plot!

But it wasn't meant to be. There was no new plot. Riley Skiller had been found dead in his Manhattan apartment. He had died of an apparent overdose. Penniless and alone, he was found in his bed, a notebook in one hand, his trusty laptop beside him. There was a short story in the papers, a quick segment on the news, and then life continued. An editor somewhere looked over a deceased author's scribblings and decided Chris and Heather would stay ordinary forever.