Empire Ants

[amended]

A story about an author and his editor.

 

[amended]

Empire Ants




Hanson shakes his head as he backspaces half of his paragraph, it was all wrong, he described half of the characters in the worst ways possible; or so Hanson thought. This writing streak was starting to toll about three hours by now, Hanson had advanced the story a good couple of pages so that was something; but Hanson simply could not talk about the characters in the right manner, he must've had writer's block at the moment, "Well, I guess it's time for a coffee break." Hanson remarks to himself before picking up the office phone that was only a few feet away from him and pressing one of the saved numbers.


"Uh, Raini, do you mind if you could pick me up a coffee? I have writer's block again and I need to take a break." Hanson says before hanging up. Sure, Raini was his editor, but she was always like a stylish secretary to him, "And do you mind if you could get me some Reese's Pieces while you're out? Thanks." Hanson says before taking a deep sigh and walking into his living room. In his living room, Hanson turns on the TV and starts to flip through the channels until he lands on channel which was playing MASH, one of his favorite shows.
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@ThisUserIsBlocked

 

[ERR0R]

Raini was leafing through the new packet one of her assistants had brought over from her new client. She had to check through it and pass it on to the publishers after she finished reading the manuscript. Even though it took hours on hours, it never bothered her. Slumping back in her spinning chair she looked around her office, eager to find something that would captivate her attention.


The phone rang, so Raini leaned over, her elbows skidding across the wooden table to pick it up. Barely stealing a glance, the editor saw how the Caller I.D was. It was one of her bigger clients, selling over ten books through her company.


Before she could conduct a proper greeting, she was welcomed with a wish from Hanson. "Of course. I'll be over in ten." Raini complied happily, putting the phone back down. She was commonly asked of these small favors, but it never threw a wrench in her plans. Hanson's house was a little down the street from the company. She could simply get a coffee and the chocolate from the lobby and rush out of the building without needed a car.
​

 

[amended]

Hanson waits patiently as the familiar tune of MASH plays, it makes him think back to the book he's currently writing; his book is actually based on MASH, it's about a small medical base in Vietnam instead of Korea, but it still has the same comedic charm as MASH and even characters that are based off of the ones in the show. Hanson ends up getting immersed in his viewing experience and causes him to slowly drift off into one of his naps; for an insomniac, Hanson does take at least two naps every week, but when he tries to go to sleep at night, it's a 50/50 chance of him even falling asleep.

Hansons had another one of his strange dreams again, the ones where it's almost like some type of story where the dreams are somehow connected. This time, he was walking around some type of beautiful and peaceful city. Hanson then would suddenly realize that it's a lucid dream, he always loved to have lucid dreams, so Hanson enjoys this lucid dream by taking flight and simply just kind of hovering above the town; sure, it is a strange thing to do, but then again, these types of dreams were always strange to him, Hanson still hasn't figured out why this particular dream is strange to him.​

 

[ERR0R]

"-And then Joanna was like 'But it's perfect', and I'm sitting here like, 'sweetie.. it's a bad plot line.'" Raini walked past Chris, one of her fellow editors who took pleasure in keeping up with all of the gossip, not to mention the fact he was born a fashionister to his parent's dismay. She walked past Chris, stopping to peak her head in his cubical to see him talking to her sister, Lily.


"Lay of Joanna, Christopher. She may have vivid plot lines, but none the less she's a vibrant author that has potential." Raini urged, thinking of Joanna, the girl she had met only once before, but her notebook was crazed with ideas that she had never seen before. Chris groaned, looking at Lily who was picking at the keys, typing in a register of her new clients.


"Yeah, 'vibrant' in the total rocked-off-her-axis-never-going-to-happen kind of way." Chris sneered, so Raini let out a sigh of defeat, pushing past the work space. Her feet shuffled through the blue and white splotched carpet full of paint stains dripping from the ceiling. Her feet took her to the lobby where she took a bag of reeses off of the table. Her eyes darted around, eventually helping her find the coffee machine she had needed.


After about five minutes, Raini was ready to leave the tower, all of Hanson's stuff in her arms. Walking out, she bid farewell to a few coworkers who tried shooting a conversation with her. But Raini didn't want to elaborate with them. She took her job very seriously ~ none the less. She walked out of the glass doors, whizzing cars driving by, sounding in her ears. Step after step, she let the breeze push her hair back, the wind brushing it softly.


Raini walked up the cracking cement side walk, and drive way, heading towards Hanson's house. Her pointer finger outlined the doorbell before taking a dip, causing it to sound as the doorbell was rung.
​

 

[amended]

Hanson was jolted awake by his doorbell, he looks around in a panicked state before sighing and standing, "Come on in!" Hanson says as he rubs his forehead. Most of the time when Hanson naps, he wakes up with a headache of some degree, "Dammit!" He exclaims as he shuffles towards his kitchen. Once inside his kitchen, Hanson walks over to one of his cabinets and retrieves a small bottle of Aleve, Hanson then takes a couple of pills before shuffling back towards his door to hopefully meet Raini when she would enter his home.

"I'll be there in a second!" He calls out as he holds his hand on his forehead.​

 

[ERR0R]

Raini heard Horson's dragged out tone, so she sighed. She had been alerted of his issue, and she knew that he was probably taking a nap. It was a hot day outside, and it didn't exactly help that the coffee she was holding was radiating off the heat. She glanced down at the chocolate in fear that it was going to melt. On all days..





It was taking Horson awhile to open the door and welcome her inside, so she took interest on the grass, then the sky, then the road. Her building towered over the street, casting a shadow twice the size over the city. A fresh hurdle of air tangled with Raini, letting her inhale and exhale. She had personally believed that one day - some day - someone should capture the essence of a relaxing summer day. But books these day hit the curve, relying on drama and futuristic words parallel to their own.


The sky was darkening in the western horizon, a good sign that it would rain - but not even one inch. It never did much those days. Raini knew that the smog was blocking out some of the fresh air that was needed to produce fresh rain - not acid rain. It was one of the things she grew to bear because she lived in the city. Prior to the big town she lived in the Western side, so much different then this setting where all the trees were hidden behind fences, or dead.
​

 

[amended]

Hanson opens the door with a half-grin, half-frown type of look on his face before giving a slight nod, "Hello, Raini. I see you brought what I asked for, thanks." Hanson says in a sincere manner before taking the coffee and the Reese's in a careful manner, "You can come in if you'd like to, I'm just watching MASH." Hanson says as he brings the coffee and the chocolate into the living room.

"Y'know, MASH was actually an inspiration for my current book. I only took some plot-points from the show, not to mention some of the characters bases. I did make sure it was alright with the creator of the show, mind you." Hanson claims before taking a sip from the coffee, "He said it was alright so I went ahead and decided to roll with it. But I simply can't introduce the characters, everytime I try to introduce the characters it sounds terrible so I try again and it's almost like I keep repeating myself, really." Hanson informs Raini. Hanson usually isn't this talkative, but he has been pretty lonely lately.​

 

[ERR0R]

Raini nodded, walking into the house. She bit her lip, knowing she had lots of work to do, but she sighed, walking into the house. Smiling, she listened to Hanson's new idea. "I think it's a good plot line, especially if the creator complies with the book." The editor took a seat down on the couch. It seemed odd for Hanson to talk this much. From what she'd known about him, he was always a closed book.


"Do you have all the character's manuscripts written out yet?" Raini asked, running a hand through her blonde hair. "Maybe once you get the character skelly written through, you'll think of a plot to through them in, and maybe the introduction will come a bit smoother." She knew she wasn't an author, but she had talked over with so many she might as well be one.
​

 

[amended]

Hanson nods solemnly, "Yeah, I have written out the character manuscripts. It's simply just that whenever I try to introduce them, it always sounds so broken up, the way I introduce them. But anyways, what's new with you?" Hanson gives Raini a soft smile as he waits for her to tell him about her day.

(Sorry for short post.)​