A Real Adaptation

For as long as she could remember, Annie preferred the fictional world of books to the real world. It wasn't like it was an overnight thing; it was more of an all-her-life thing. She was easily swept away by literary classics, swoon-worthy romances, and, of course, the movies of none other than her idols Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron.

She lived her life imagining she was the leading lady in one of Nancy or Nora's films, but in reality, her whole adult life spanned the length of a single street. If you squinted from the street view of her apartment, you could see her office building. Between her office and her apartment were her other usual spots: the coffee shop, the bookstore her friend Michael owned, and the Italian restaurant where they often dined together. If she was feeling a little wild, she'd take the extra-long walk to the park on a clear day, where she'd set up shop to read on a picnic blanket beneath a tree.

Annie was fine with this life; she was used to this life. Deep down, the growing ache of her desire to be a writer like either of her two heroes nagged at her. She always made excuses for why she hadn't gotten it done, why she hadn't pursued her dream. At the end of the day, she would tell herself, "There's always tomorrow."

Then, on a day that started like any other, Annie meets Ethan, a friend of Michael's who offers to help run his bookstore temporarily when Michael becomes overwhelmed. From their first interaction, Annie is significantly unimpressed. Ethan's grumpy attitude and his insistence that his literary taste is better than hers are not only arrogant but wildly outrageous. She doesn't understand how someone can simultaneously not care what other people think while also believing that they're better than everyone.

They butt heads, they argue, they can't seem to see eye to eye on anything, yet they find themselves thinking about each other more and more, making everything more confusing. But when Annie catches someone's eye in the park one afternoon, Ethan becomes envious. Annie becomes even more confused with his actions as he remains grumpy but somehow nicer to her.

Things become even more confusing when she finds out who Ethan really is.