This interview was really exhausting. It was so hard to keep on track, to not just say whatever came to mind like I usually do! There are so many things I had to leave unsaid, just because I had a very limited time on screen and most of what I was supposed to say was already written anyway.

Drawing a deep breath, I absentmindedly light up the first cigarette of the day and let my mind wander back in time. Funny how things had gone so fast, and yet it seemed like ages ago when I first met Abby and Pierre.

The book wasn’t popular yet, it was just this little unknown thing in a language not that many people spoke. It didn’t have that many followers, and I didn’t expect any more. Yet when I showed it to my therapist and she, in turn, showed it to her other patients, they took an interest in it. Pierre called out to me first, saying he had loved it and was currently working on a script to turn it into a movie. He kindly asked if it bothered me and if I would allow him to present it to a contest. Of course I had to agree, since I felt that this story wasn’t really mine anyways. It was something to share, not something to jealously keep for myself.

A couple of weeks later I got a new friends request on Discord : it was Abby, and she asked me if I would mind her trying to play the main character if she found a way to turn the book into a film. I gave her Pierre’s contact info, and thought no more about it. I really didn’t think it would work. I underestimated their stubbornness.

I was working on my translation when I received a call from them. Not knowing what excuse I could make to refuse it, and since I hadn’t really had an opportunity to talk to anybody for a while, I answered.

“Hey! It’s Abby, remember me? Pierre’s with me too! We wanted to thank you for your authorisation to work on a script, and for giving me his contact infos. We need your authorisation again, to put the plan we made to action and gather a crew and all so we can start filming…”

Wait a minute. Filming? Like, for real? These guys were serious about this whole “turn your little thing into a bigger thing” thing? At that exact moment, be it from shock, panic attack, or the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything for two days, I collapsed. My head was spinning and I felt all of my energy leave my body. This was too much. And just like the main character of my book, when it’s too much, I tend to faint...

I have no idea how long I was out, but when I came to they were about to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible: I never liked hospitals. I used to be hospitalised almost once a year when I was younger for different reasons, almost died once or twice, and I never could stand the smell. I don’t mind the food that’s so bad it would make a chef puke, nor the lack of intimacy when doctors and nurses come in your room whenever they want, not even the beds that are so uncomfortable, but I hate the smell of hospitals. It makes me shiver just to think of it. And I digress again.

After spending a good 10 minutes convincing my new friends that I was fine, and that these things happen every once in a while, and no, I’m not sick, I just need a bowl of instant noodles and a glass of iced tea, they finally ended the call. I had given my go to their idea, and they had work to do. Besides, I had the feeling that I would have even less time than planned to finish the translation, since they would definitely try to include me in their wicked plans.