"Why won't you listen to me"

"Cut", the director bellowed, yanking off his cap and swiping a hand over his sweat-drenched hair. He gently rubbed his eyes to numb the effects of insomnia and stress he had faced for the past few years. The director had devotedly spent his time crafting each scene with passion and love. But all his efforts had been compromised due to the movie's protagonist, Wilson.

Wilson was incredibly difficult to work with. His poor acting and decision-making skills had reduced the director's long movie to a mere short film. Furious beyond measure, the director spotted Wilson in the corner of the room, cluelessly wondering why the shooting had been halted.

"Wilson, get over here!" barked the director. "Take a look at your masterpiece, and tell me if it's worthy enough to be a film." With a puzzled look, Wilson approached and sat beside the director. A monitor screen was set up, displaying scenes from the movie.

The director took a deep breath, “The film is supposed to be about a boy who made all the wrong decisions in life, and made his family suffer through his consequences but he slowly matures and corrects his wrongs, finds love, and lived happily ever after. YOUR stupid acting skills have caused me to use up all the budgets we had WILSON!”

The director looked Wilson dead in the eye. "All you had to do was listen to me, Wilson!”, The director took a glass of water beside him and started drinking it, he finished it in one gulp to calm himself down, “Look in the hero’s teenage years, due to his curious nature, the hero tries out some bad habits like smoking and drinking.

And the scene where the father confronts the hero about his activities, the hero doesn’t heed the father’s advice and talks back rudely, and to be honest you did that part really well, your words and emotions did work out, any father would be disheartened by that, but again it is the hero’s teenage years, so its fine, young and all you know, however, you had that same emotion when you were doing the adult version of the hero, you maintained that same emotion, which doesn’t suit the age, Wilson. How can a mature man be rude to his father because the father cared for him! How?”

Wilson was a bit annoyed, as in the story the father does nag the protagonist a lot for drinking, so he thought he did a good job by being a jerk and hurting the father.

The director was not happy with the looks on Wilson's face, "Think I am overreacting Wilson? Let’s look at romance elements then," the director began. "Ms. Sophia, your high school crush, has finally landed the same job as you. Look at how much you stuttered just to say 'Hi' to her. All you needed was a bit more confidence in your lines, and the romantic scenes would have been much easier for me to shoot. Instead, your lack of backbone cost me scenes that can barely be categorized as romance."

"For instance, during the lunch scene, the hero was supposed to try his luck and invite Ms. Sophia out. Wilson you almost pulled it off, you strode towards her confidently, stood over her cubicle, and all you had to say was,

'Hi Sophia, did you see the email from the manager? Can you believe this guy, cutting our bonus again? Anyway, want to grab lunch together?'

It's a bloody simple dialogue, but the moment Ms. Sophia looked up and met your eyes, you crumbled like thin ice. How many times did I yell at you to continue! And yet, you just stood there like a bloody chimpanzee. Regardless, Ms. Sophia made the effort to continue the conversation, she kept giving you chances to say your lines properly, and you kept botching it," the director hurled his cap onto the floor in anger.

Wilson gulped down his shame as he watched his romance scenes, finally coming to terms with his horrible romance skills. He had indeed behaved awkwardly whenever he looked at Ms. Sophia. Perhaps it was her blue eyes, her rosy cheeks, or the small strands of hair playfully framing her beautiful face that kept distracting him.

The director then grabbed Wilson’s shoulder. "Look at the extra scenes, see how much budget I had to put into the film because you couldn't deliver your lines properly. I had to add more believable complex scenes that would actually allow the hero to fall in love with Ms. Sophia because I cannot rely on your confidence. For instance, with Ms. Sophia, I scripted a scene where you save a child about to be hit by a truck, right in front of her. I had to risk a child's life just to provide you with a heroic moment, a scene that would make Ms. Sophia fall for you.

"I even inserted a scene where your manager finally appreciates your work and grants you a performance bonus. I arranged everything to craft the perfect heroic narrative, and all you had to do was listen to me and act accordingly!" The director finally lost his cool. He stood up from the chair and paced from left to right, trying to regain his composure.

It took a few minutes for the director to regain his composure.

"All you had to do in the next scene was drive to your fifth date with Ms. Sophia, propose to her, and get married. I wanted to continue the story by showing you having a son with her and learning to navigate your rebellious child's behaviors," said the director, his voice choked with emotion.

 "Ms. Sophia was anticipating your proposal; she had practiced how she wanted to act surprised and how she would react to the ring you bought for her. The entire restaurant would have erupted in applause and cheers for you two as you kissed her. It would have been the most beautiful scene in the whole movie, followed by the birth of your son," the director halted his words, pausing for a moment.

He suddenly let out a final scream, "And you ruined it all by downing that bottle of scotch! Scene by scene, I built up your confidence, and helped you mature! All you had to do was listen to me and trust in your inner confidence, but you chose to place your trust in that 350ml bottle. Did you actually think that drinking alcohol would boost your confidence, that it would bestow you with a charming attitude?! NO! All it gave you was impaired judgment and blurred vision," the director firmly grasped Wilson's head and forced it against the screen, "Look! Look, Wilson! Look what you've done to my perfect story!" He pressed Wilson's face hard against the screen.

Wilson sobbed uncontrollably. He had missed all the good scenes in his movie due to his addiction. With tears streaming down his face, he watched the screen displaying a smashed and burning car. He watched as paramedics covered his bloodied face, pronouncing him dead at the scene. He watched the ring he had intended to give to Ms. Sophia disintegrating in the fire.

Wilson sank to his knees. "Please give me one more chance, I swear I'll do it right." The Director stared at him. "Wilson, I told you, we are out of budget! We already spent all the luck on the truck almost hitting the child scene and the promotion scene. Now you crashing the car and ruining your entire story of yours, I don’t have the budget to save you, Wilson, there is no more luck in our bank. Getting addicted to alcohol was your decision, Wilson. Choosing to drink before a date was your decision! And worst of all, deciding to get behind the wheel while drunk was your most terrible decision."

"I directed every scene of your life as your soul guardian. The angels assigned me to ensure that you would lead a happy life in the end, and you blew it! Wasn't I loud enough? Didn't you hear me yelling instructions in the back of your mind? I'm the reason your hair stands on end at the back of your neck when you're afraid. I am your conscience, Wilson! All you had to do was listen to me! Now go, head towards the light, and repent for your sin!"

The screen slowly started to glow, growing brighter until it emitted an intense light. Wilson sobbed as he saw the light drawing closer. A 350ml bottle of scotch had turned his potentially long and happy life into a short tragic film. The director walked away from the light, cursing under his breath at Wilson.