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Life and the Movies
Joey Potter looked at her friend Dawson Leery and she smiled sadly.
“Life isn’t like a movie, Dawson,” she said “We can't write happy endings to all our relationships.”
Joey was a pretty girl with long brown hair. Bot1 .1 o and Dawson were nearly sixteen years old. The two teenagers had problems. All teenagers had the same problems—life, love, school work, and parents. It isn’t easy to become an adult.
Dawson loved movies. He had always loved movies. He took film classes in school. He made short movies himself. Dawson wanted to be a film director. His favorite director was Steven Spielberg. Dawson spent a lot of his free time filming with his video camera. He loved watching videos of great movies from the past. Most evenings, he watched movies with Joey. And until recently, that had been fine. But now their friendship had become difficult.
“These days, Dawson always wants US to behave like people in movies,” Joey thought. And life in the little seaside town of Capeside wasn’t like the movies.
Joey looked at the handsome, blond boy who was sit-ting next to her. She thought about the years of their long friendship. They had known each other all their lives. They were best friends.
Joey had always loved Dawson as a friend. But during the summer, Joey’s feelings had changed. Suddenly, she’d wanted a serious relationship with Dawson. She’d wanted him to love her as a woman, not as a sister. Dawson hadn’t wanted that. He hadn't wanted to be her boyfriend. He'd wanted them to go on being best friend in the old way. Dawson hadn't wanted a serious relationship with Joe. And Joey had become very unhappy.
Then a new girl had arrived in the little town. Her name was Jen Lindley. She was a beautiful blond from New York City. She had come to live with her grandparents in Capeside. And Dawson Leery had fallen in love with her.
For a few weeks. Jen had been Dawson's girlfriend. Then she had ended that relationship. She had not wanted a serious boyfriend. Now, Dawson and Jen tried to be friends. But it was a difficult time for both of them.
Soo after Dawson’s relationship with Jen ended feelings about Joey had changed. At last, he has la L love with her. And for a time, she had been his girlfriend. She had gotten what she had wanted for so long. But when she had Dawson’s love, she no longer wanted it. Dawson was the only boy who she had ever known well. And now she wanted to meet new people. She no longer wanted to be close to only one person. But now Dawson was in love with her, and he didn’t want her to know other hoys.
Dawson and his friend Pacey Witter were still Joey’s best friends. And she had started to like Jen too. The four teenagers spent a lot of time together. But life wasn’t easy for any of them.
That evening, Joey had spent two hours with Dawson. Dawson had asked her to be his girlfriend again. He asked her this almost every day. They had quarrelled about it. Then they had watched a movie together. Now it was time for Joey to go home.
“Dawson, please try to leave me in peace,” Joey said as she walked to the door. “I want us to be friends. But I don’t want to be your girlfriend. I want to meet other guys. Maybe one of them will be my boyfriend. You have to understand that. This is my exit from the scene. Goodnight."
When she had gone, Dawson thought about Jen and Joey. He had loved both of them. But both girls had ended their relationships with him. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t life be like the movies?