“Ms. Ludlow … can I talk to you for a moment?” Professor Winthrop called after class.
She stayed behind until everyone left the classroom.
“I’m just letting you know … the piece you did on the obscura camera was excellent, you have a knack for research and observation, I see.” He handed out her report with an A+ mark on it.
Her face brightened up when she received it.
“I’ve also seen your grades from Easton High, it’s quite impressive, it seems you can ace pretty much anything that’s put on your plate, congratulations.”
Charlie smiled proudly, at least he noticed that she didn’t earn her place as a student by posing naked for his aunt, “Thank you, sir.”
“Please … just Brad … although I still have to call you Ms. Ludlow in class.” He rolled up his sleeves like he always did after class. “Okay … Charlie … What have you been working on with Maxine? Has she put you up with her movie projects? I heard she has quite a few queuing up this year.”
“Office work mostly … I’m learning what she does everyday, and she does a lot, I’m learning the mechanism of the industry, the business side of it.”
Brad nodded, “That’s good, she’s the best in the field … but, don’t you want to dive into the action itself? The magic of film making?”
Her eyes sparkled, of course she did, she just hasn’t got the chance to do it yet.
“As you know … I have an independent project called The Night Film, I’ve gathered a handful of eager students here to do the project as an extracurricular activity … it’s really creative work … no working hours commitment, everybody commits in their own time and it’s a really light and fun working environment,” his introduction hooked her already. “if you’re interested … I could use a bright young student like yourself to join the team … it’s a non-profit at the moment, but there’s a lot of potential in it, everyone’s growing together, I’m sure we’ll be making something in the future.”
A wide smile spread across her face, “I would love to … although, I’m not sure about the working hours because I have to be at the office everyday ’til 7 or 8.”
Brad folded his arms in front of him, “Hmm … maybe you can ask Maxine if you’re allowed to join us twice a week for learning experience … not sure what your commitment is with her … but this is part of what it means being a film student.”
Charlie nodded, Maxine would probably allow it just because it was her nephew’s project.
“I understand the scholarship is very valuable to you right now, so that must be your priority … getting good grades in classes you take should guarantee you will get an extension of that scholarship next year.”
Brad didn’t seem to know about the ‘scholarship’ arrangement with Maxine, or maybe he was fishing for the truth. Charlie smiled in response.
“If you ever need any advice, I want you to know that I’m always open for it … and believe it or not … there are many ways to thrive in the industry outside of Maxine Roberts,” he laughed lightly. “But don’t tell her I said that … she would beg to differ,” he laughed again.
**********
Maxine pouted, she flipped through her planner, crossed some notes and wrote something on it. “Twice a week, huh?” she mumbled to herself. “Tuesdays and Fridays … how’s that sound? You can go at 5 … ish … on those days starting next week,” she said.
“Really?” she woke up with joy.
Maxine threw herself back on her high chair and looked at Charlie’s eager expression. She smiled, “Yeah … Brad’s project is a good place to get your first experience … well … an independent one, it’s a lot different from a studio.”
“It’s part of the school project too, I will get grades for it … he said if I get good grades in all my classes, it could guarantee my spot next year for an extended scholarship.”
She laughed in amusement, “He said that?”
Charlie nodded.
“I don’t think you need to worry about tuition anymore Charlie … I think our ongoing agreement will cover that until you finish your study … let’s just say you’ve been ‘facilitated’ … something my nephew can’t seem to appreciate, he likes to do it the ‘right’ way,” she chuckled. “I can’t say he’s not succeeding … I’m just saying, he could’ve saved a lot of time to get much further than where he is now, but I guess he takes pride on how he does it,” she let out a long exhale.
She realized every family had their own disagreement, she wasn’t the only one who went against her family’s ways. It was one thing she had in common with Brad. But Brad seemed to get along just fine with his aunt, unlike her and her father.
“You have my permission … twice a week after 5 PM, I think that would work well with my schedule,” she glanced at her watch. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to give you the rest of the day off today … I think I haven’t done that since you started working here, I’m going to leave early myself, I have some stuff I need to take care of,” she added.
“I can’t thank you enough … this is more than I ever expected, I’m learning so much here from you, and the school and now the project with Professor Winthrop, I really appreciate the opportunity,” Charlie finally said.
Maxine smiled widely, “Oh darling … sometimes I envy how young you are, you have a long way ahead of you and so much more to learn … you’ll have plenty of time to thank me later,” she patted Charlie’s cheeks. “Now … I need to be going, I will see you tomorrow … enjoy your rest of the day, okay?”
“Thanks Maxine.”
The day was still bright when she walked to the tram station, she hadn’t enjoyed Goldstone afternoon for months. She reached for her phone and called Tommy, “Hey … I got off early today … do you want to meet up?”