“Will you help me?” Chloe asked David.
“As long as it doesn’t take too long. I want to have fun, too. And I have to clear it with my PR guy.”
“Deal,” Chloe said.
Everyone grabbed their food and then got comfortable because Chloe had picked out a movie to watch on streaming video. The evening was relaxed and chill.
Although, for Crystal, it was nerve-wracking because every time David leaned in close to talk to her, she expected him to kiss her. Every time he touched her hand, she thought he would hold it. Crystal worried she had food stuck to her shirt or something every time she caught him checking her out.
When the movie ended, David asked, “Do you want me to give you a ride home?”
Not sure what to say, she agreed. After he drove off, Crystal realized that if she had said ‘no,’ it meant he wanted her to stay the night. She was a neurotic idiot.
◊◊◊
David was someplace he had never been before, the Hoose Library of Philosophy. It was the oldest library on the USC campus. It harkened back to the stunning buildings built nearly a hundred years ago. The main reading room was topped by a high cathedral ceiling, filled with original artwork and furniture from local artists. David could see coming back here to study because of the inviting ambiance.
“Come on, people, let’s get everything set up!” a student director called out.
Professor Blum and his ex, Colleen O’Connor, oversaw a swarm of film students shooting today’s commercial. The young director looked frazzled and thought he had to approve every tiny detail, so David decided to take the time and actually study.
David had signed up for a critical thinking class. It wasn’t normally offered, but a visiting lecturer, Professor Paul Elder, was teaching it this semester. The purpose of the course was to cut through rhetoric and uncover manipulation or deception from different places, such as scientists, religious zealots, and politicians. It was basically to help hone your BS detector.
Today’s class involved chain arguments. The conclusion of one argument may be the premise of another, so a series of arguments may be linked together like a chain to reach a conclusion. Professor Elder’s contention was that every link in the chain must work (including the premise)—not just most of them. His example was based on a piece of art stolen from a museum.
“The fact is that between the time the art was placed on the wall and the time the theft was discovered, no one and nothing touched it. That means that the art could not have been stolen between the time it was hung and the time the theft was discovered. Therefore, the art must have been stolen outside that period,” Professor Elder had taught.
He broke this chain down into three separate arguments:
i. The fact is that between the time the art was placed on the wall and the time the theft was discovered, no one and nothing touched it.
ii. That means that the art could not have been stolen between the time it was hung and the time the theft was discovered.
iii. Therefore, the art must have been stolen outside that period.
If any of the three could be brought into question, then the whole chain was suspect.
The call, “Ready on set!” interrupted David’s thoughts, and he looked up.
“Good Lord,” he muttered.
The director was going to make sure he got every angle.
Usually, there would be straight-on cameras for the actors and then one off to the side to catch them both; this guy had seven plus a handheld.
“Are you ready?” the director asked David.
“Yes. Let’s do this,” David said as he looked back down at his book to get ready.
“Action!”
A female student sat down across from David, causing him to look up.
“Are you …?”
“David Dawson, hi.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, acting like a total fangirl.
“That’s all right. I’m a student, just like you.”
“But you could have gone to college anywhere.”
“But this place is great. The University of Southern California is a place like no other.”
“And cut! Let’s do it again!”
‘Fuck me,’ David thought but went back to looking at his book so they could do it again.
He started to miss his days filming the J-dramas and their one-shot-and-move-on approach when, after the tenth iteration, Professor Blum had to stop it. David had agreed to some voice-over work, so he, Colleen, and Professor Blum walked to USC’s sound studios.
Colleen tried to talk to him as they walked, but David ignored her.
When they arrived, a girl was finishing up, so they had to wait a moment.
“Thanks for being professional earlier. My next lesson is going to have to be about delegation and allowing your crew to do their job,” Professor Blum said.
“And maybe not as many cameras,” David suggested.
“The only time I remember ever having that many for a shot was when filming a stunt they didn’t want to do more than once.”
When it was David’s turn behind the microphone, the director simply asked, “Are you ready?”
“I am.”
“Okay. I’ll just let it run, so start whenever you want and watch the clock. Each spot is thirty seconds.”
David nodded and began to read his lines.
“There’s a place steeped in tradition that’s been forged in California sunshine and strengthened by the inspiration of a world-class private research university. It’s meeting tomorrow’s challenges today. It’s breaking old ways of thinking with new creativity and celebrating our achievements. The University of Southern California is a place like no other,” he recited and paused for a moment before beginning on the next one.
“One thing is still certain. Our students need skills that last a lifetime. Flexibility, resilience, creativity, and the humility to realize at graduation that their education has just begun. The University of Southern California is a place like no other.”
For the second one, he slowed his pace and paused so that he ended both right at the thirty-second mark.
“We got it. Thanks,” the director said, and David was done.
◊◊◊
David went to visit Cassidy.
“My love for daytime TV is vast, but even it has its limits,” was Cassidy’s opening remark.
“Does that mean you want to go home?”
“I get checked in the morning, and if all is good, I’m free. Your mom is picking me up.”
“Where are you planning on going to rehab?” David asked.
She sighed.
“I’m going to fly home with my dad.”
“If you can’t handle it, I have a bye week in five or six weeks. I plan to fly back to watch Phil play football. If you clear it with your dad, you can come back with me.”
“Do I get to be the pilot?”
“Maybe—when it’s on autopilot.”
“You don’t trust me to fly with one hand?” Cassidy challenged.
David wasn’t taking the bait. His little ninja was frustrated with lying around, so she liked to start arguments to liven things up. Instead, he told her about doing his commercials and how Taylor had talked him into being their celebrity bartender.
“You better watch yourself, or Alpha Mu will turn you into their pet.”
“As long as I get belly rubs.”
Cassidy made an inappropriate comment, which caused them both to laugh. The two of them fell into an easy banter until he had to go.
On his drive home, David flipped the switch to football.
It was finally time for him to play his first college game.
◊◊◊