Saturday Night School Ch. 04

"You can tell she likes this," Cody said. Michelle passed his seat, and Cody lunged for her, catching hold of her nipple and pinching it tightly between his thumb and index finger. Michelle flinched and stopped. She leaned forward, trying to pull out of Cody's grip. Charlie could see her breast stretch into a conical shape as Cody kept a tight hold of her nipple. Finally, the nipple slipped free and Michelle's breast snapped back to its normal shape. Michelle resumed her torturous walk.

Charlie looked at the empty seat next to him, then watched Michelle pass by without even looking at it. Charlie kept his eyes on her, watching helplessly as she approached an empty seat next to an unknown boy with long black hair and a goatee. She sat, and the boy immediately reached for her, pulling one of her legs into his lap, groping between her thighs...

His cellphone rang, startling him awake. Charlie sat up, momentarily disoriented. Such a vivid dream... he could still picture the distraught look on Michelle's face...

He glanced at the screen of his phone, seeing a number he didn't recognize.

Michelle!

He seized the phone, his heart pounding. He pressed it to his ear. "Hello? This is Charlie."

"Hey! Charlie Tucker?" A man's voice. Not Michelle.

"Yes, this is Charlie..."

"Hey, how're you doing. This is Brent Greene. I'm a professor in the film department of Jefferson University."

"Oh, right! How are you, sir?"

"Good, good. I wanted to let you know that we're reviewed your application for our Apex film program, and we've selected you as one of our final candidates. We'd like you to come in for an interview, and to show us some of your work. Can we schedule a time?

"Sure! When?"

"We have some openings this Saturday, or you can come in the following Saturday."

"I'm free this Saturday. What time?"

"Let's see. We have 2 PM, 3 PM, 3:30..."

"How about 2?

"Okay, I'll write you in for 2 PM. You're in Pine Hills, right?"

"Right."

"What's that, about a half hour drive?"

"Yes," Charlie said. "Or I can take the train."

"Sure. There's a train stop just a few blocks from the university. You'll be able to show us some of your work?"

"Yes. I'll bring a few things."

"Great. 2 PM, this Saturday, at the film department. We'll see you then."

"Okay!"

"Looking forward to seeing what you got. Bye, Charlie." The call ended.

Charlie gripped the phone in his hand and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. "HELL YEAH!!" he yelled.

His next thought was that he wished he could tell Michelle.

The Jefferson University Apex film program received a large number of applicants each year for only ten slots. Anyone who was accepted to Jefferson University could decide to major in film, but the Apex program was specifically designed for students who intended to pursue careers in the film industry. It was an intensive program that offered access to cutting edge production and editing facilities, and a lot of the alumni from the program had gone on to work for major studios.

Ten slots. Charlie wasn't sure how many applicants had been selected as "final candidates", but he suspected at least twenty. He knew he shouldn't celebrate yet. He really needed to nail the interview. Suddenly, his editing reel seemed pretty flimsy. A few student films from his Video I and Video II classes, plus a lot of edits of sports and live events. He hoped it was enough.

Charlie gazed at his phone. Michelle was probably still mad at him and he didn't have her phone number anyways. But he had Vanessa's, from when she'd texted him, and maybe Vanessa would give him Michelle's number. Suddenly, all the drama from the past week seemed unimportant. He just wanted to speak to Michelle, to share his good news with her.

He found Vanessa's text on his phone and selected the "Call Back" option. He put the phone to his ear and listened to it ring.

Click. "Hi, this is Michelle. Leave a message please." Then a beep.

Charlie was too confused to speak for a moment. Michelle's voice. Michelle's phone. So it wasn't Vanessa that had sent that text to meet at the football stands. It was Michelle.

He found his voice. "Hey, Michelle. This is Charlie." He took a breath. "Hey, I heard back from Jefferson University. The Apex film program. They told me I'm one of the final candidates. They want me to go to the university this Saturday, for an interview." He hesitated then the words rushed out. "I thought I'd take the train. My interviews at 2, and if I catch the 12:30 train to Linterna, I'll be there in plenty of time. There's a train station right near the university. Michelle... do you want to go with me? To Linterna? You could go shopping while I do my interview... there's all those shops on Campus Road... and then after, we could eat at one of the restaurants maybe? You could meet me at the train station, and we could go to Linterna together..." He faltered, leaving a moment of silence. "I'd just really like it if you would come with me, Michelle... this could be a big thing for me and... and I feel like I'm going to mess it up..." Again he faltered. It felt like he had so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn't know where to start. The silence stretched endlessly, and finally, embarrassed, he disconnected the call.

For an hour, he couldn't do anything but pace his room with an eye on his phone. He hit himself on the head, called himself stupid, wished again and again that he could delete that message from her mailbox. The last time Michelle had talked to him, she'd stormed off in anger. They hadn't said a word to each other since then. And now he'd just called her out of the blue and asked her to go with him to his interview? In a city thirty miles away? What the hell was he thinking?

His phone didn't ring. Of course it didn't. She probably deleted the message right after she heard it.

He barely slept that night. When he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was check his phone. No response. No text message. Not even a 'go to hell'.

Thursday. Friday. Nothing.

He told himself he shouldn't have expected any different. Why would Michelle respond to his ridiculous message? Michelle thought he was an asshole, and honestly, she was right.

At least it had given him something other than the interview to worry about.

***

On Saturday, Charlie bought his train ticket and walked onto the platform. He counted ten, maybe fifteen people waiting. Michelle wasn't one of them. A few of the benches had empty seats, but Charlie chose to stand.

So he would go to his interview alone. He would go, do the interview, then maybe get some fast food and eat it while waiting for the train back. A waste of time to worry about the interview now; it was going to go how it would go. It wasn't like he could edit something new on the train ride there. He had a portable drive in his backpack with all his work on it. Hopefully something he had done would impress them.

Suddenly, he smelled her. That familiar scent of her perfume. He whirled around, and Michelle was standing right behind him. She wore an army green jacket over a yellow fifties dress. Charlie was so surprised that for a moment he could only gape at her with his mouth open.

She stepped forward to stand next to him. "I told you that you would get into the film program at Jefferson."

"Ah..." He blinked at her, still barely able to believe she was there. "... I'm not in yet... I still have this interview..."

"I know. But you'll get in. You'll see."

He gazed at her profile. "Thanks for coming with me," he said quietly.

"Sure."

After a moment, he said, "You look amazing."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks."

The train arrived promptly at 12:30, and Charlie and Michelle boarded. It was half full, and they had no problem finding a seat together. Michelle took the window seat and Charlie took the aisle. The train started to move.

At first, they talked about trains, and then they talked about Linterna. Michelle had been to Jefferson University earlier in the year, to visit a Pine Hills graduate from a previous year. He asked her if she'd applied there, and she said she had not.

"I'm not going to college next year," she said. "If I go to college, it'll have to be a state school, and I'd have to move there. I'm not ready to move out of Pine Hills."

"So what will you do next year?"

"Work. My sister works at Macy's... she says they'll hire me. I'll just work and live at home. I need to think more about what I want to do with my life before I go to college."

Charlie looked out the window as the train passed a herd of black horses in an enclosure. "I'll probably live at home, too. I'll probably take this train every day to Jefferson and back. I'll get used to this ride." He added, "If I get in, I mean."

"Right." She smiled.

They passed through the small towns that lay between Pine Hills and Linterna, each of them with their own stop. A few people got off, but more got on, and the train gradually filled up, until every seat was taken and a few people stood in the aisles.

Finally, the tinny recorded voice on the speaker announced, "Next stop, Campus Road, Jefferson University. Repeat, next stop, Campus Road, Jefferson University."

Charlie and Michelle waited until the train slowed to a stop, then made their way down the aisle to the doors. They stepped out onto the platform. Across the street from the train station, Charlie could see the small shopping area called The Village, a maze of cafes, boutique clothing stores and bohemian craft shops that lay just across from the Jefferson campus. Charlie checked his phone for the time. It said 1:40.

"Jefferson is a few blocks that way, on the other side of the stores," he told Michelle. "I need to get over there and find the film department. Do you want to hang out here, and we'll meet afterwards?"

"Okay. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll text you when it's done. Shouldn't be longer than half an hour. Just let me know where you are, and I'll find you."

"Okay."

They walked across the street. At the corner, Michelle wished him good luck and told him not to be nervous. She turned left into The Village while Charlie continued walking straight. He turned his head and watched her as she walked away.

He picked up a map of the campus at the security station, which wasn't entirely necessary, since the night before he'd found the film department on the same map on the school's website. But he was glad to have the map in hand, just in case. He walked through the campus at a brisk pace. Even though he was on schedule to get there ten minutes early, he still worried that an unforeseen event would delay him.

He found the film department building. The door to the building was propped ajar, and inside he found an empty waiting area. An ink board was set up on an easel, and he read his name written in large letters: CHARLIE TUCKER, 2 PM. Below his name, he read other names, for interview appointments after his. He didn't see where else to go, so he sat and waited.

At around 1:59 PM, a thin boy with dirty blonde hair in a ponytail and horn-rimmed glasses came out into the waiting area. He was followed by a pretty woman with long dark hair. The woman smiled at Charlie. "Charlie Tucker?" she asked.

"Yes."

She offered her hand, and he shook it. "Harriet Behzadi," she introduced herself. "Associate professor of Film. Will you follow me? Do you have your stuff?"

Charlie followed her into a room with a computer hooked up to a large monitor. A man with short hair and glasses waited there. He introduced himself as Brent Greene. Charlie took the seat they offered him, and Harriet also sat.

They spent the first ten minutes asking Charlie the usual questions. What career goals did he have? Why was he interested in the Apex program? Who did he consider to be his influences? Charlie answered each question carefully, but he couldn't tell how he was doing. Brent smiled and nodded encouragingly at everything he said, almost like it was a habit. Harriet, on the other hand, looked very serious, her face an impenetrable mask.

"Let's see what you've got," Brent said. Charlie attached his portable drive to the computer. He went to the drive and launched his editing reel.

They watched for a minute. "You like sports?" Brent asked as the monitor played a portion of a basketball game, which Charlie had edited together from the footage of four cameras.

"I like the way it edits together," Charlie said. "I'm not really a fan of any particular team."

They watched some other events he'd edited together: an awards assembly; a pep rally; a football game. Afterwards, Charlie showed them a short film from his Video II class called "The Chase", which involved a police officer chasing a fugitive through a park. (Charlie played the police officer and Greg played the fugitive.)

"I can see you have a good technical understanding of film, Charlie," Harriet said. "Everything you've shown us demonstrates you know how to use a camera and you know how to edit. But I'm wondering if you have anything that shows more of your artistic side?"

"Artistic side?"

"Yes. This film of yours, it's not so different from your sports edits, right? It's basically a well-shot and well-edited action sequence. I wonder if you have something that shows more of your range... something with more depth."

Charlie went to the main directory of his drive. Something with more depth? He had basketball games, football games, track meets, assemblies. He had his work from his Video classes, but most of those weren't much more than class exercises. "The Chase" was the best one, and he had to concede her point, it was more technical than artistic.

He noticed a file on the drive. "Uh...I do have this project I've been working on... for my... ah... girlfriend. A gift for her, a graduation gift. It's kind of the story of her high school experience."

"Okay, let's see it," Harriet said.

Charlie prayed he wasn't making a huge mistake. He moved the mouse to the file "MICHPROJ" and launched it.

On the monitor, Michelle's face appeared.

***

When the video ended, Harriet was smiling. "Oh, that was beautiful," she said. "Your girlfriend is really going to love it."

"Nice work," Brent said. "Great transitions, great use of music. Some interesting choices, but they all worked."

"It has a lot of emotional resonance," Harriet said. "I can tell you really put your heart into it."

"Thank you," Charlie said.

Brent looked at the clock. "We've gone a bit over. We're going to have to cut it off here. Thanks for coming in, Charlie. We'll be letting everyone know what we've decided in a couple weeks."

"Thank you," Charlie said again. He stood and disconnected his drive, stowing it back in his bag. When he was ready, Harriet walked with him back to the waiting room.

To his surprise, Michelle sat in a chair waiting for him. A short-haired girl with purple hair also waited, presumably the next interview. "Oh!" Harriet's face lit up. "You didn't tell me she came with you!"

"Yes," Charlie said. "This is Michelle."

"Glad to meet you, Michelle." Harriet beamed. She shook Charlie's hand one last time. "See you later, Charlie." As Michelle stood, Harriet spoke to the purple-haired girl, inviting her into the room that Charlie had just left.

"What was that about?" Michelle asked as they left the building.

"You didn't go shopping?"

"I did... for a little bit... but then I decided I'd rather wait for you. Did that woman recognize me? It seemed like she did..."

"Um..." Charlie considered what to say, then decided to just tell the truth. "I showed them a little project I've been working on. They asked to see something more artistic... Um... anyways, It's kind of meant to be a gift for you, and they watched it."

"Really?" Michelle was delighted. "A gift for me? You made me a video?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, I want to see it! Can I watch it?"

Charlie looked away, embarrassed. "No! I mean, not yet. It's not really done."

"Okay!" Michelle leaned in close to him, looping her arm around his. "I can wait. But I really want to see it." She pressed against his side, and the subtle scent of her perfume made him feel like he was walking through a garden of blooming flowers. They made their way back towards The Village, to find someplace to have a late lunch.

***

By the time they stood again on the platform, waiting for the train back to Pine Hills, the sun cast an orange glow on the faces of the waiting passengers, and Charlie knew it would be dark when they finally reached their destination.

"Thanks again for lunch," Michelle murmured from beside him. "And for my pin." She'd attached the silver butterfly pin to the lapel of her jacket as soon as he'd bought it for her. It was something that had caught her eye while they browsed through a few of the shops after leaving the restaurant.

"You came all this way with me," Charlie said. "The least I could do is buy you lunch."

The train pulled up to the platform and the doors opened. Charlie could see through the windows that this train would be more crowded than the train earlier in the afternoon. As they stepped into the train car, Charlie looked for a spot where they could sit together, but didn't see anything. Michelle ended up next to an old man wearing thick glasses, and Charlie sat next to a large sleeping woman in an overcoat, but at least they sat across the aisle from each other.

At first, some of the passengers had to stand, and one man stood in the aisle directly between them. A seat opened up, and the man sat, so that Charlie could see Michelle again. He smiled at her, but it was still difficult to have a conversation across the aisle, when people kept walking between them. Night fell, and soon the windows of the train only showed darkness outside.

The old man sitting next to Michelle stood to leave, and she stood up as well to let him out. Charlie thought they would finally be able to sit together, but Michelle didn't return to her seat; instead, she took hold of the strap that hung just over Charlie's seat and stood right next to him. Charlie looked up at her, confused. He considered offering his seat to her, but why would she take it when she had a perfectly good empty seat behind her?

The train started to move, and she swayed with the motion, her leg bumping against his hand. He gazed thoughtfully at the hem of her dress, which stopped just above her knees. Was it coincidence that she was positioned so that the bare skin of her leg kept touching his hand? He looked up at her, but she kept her eyes towards the front of the train. Again, her leg bumped his hand.

Charlie could hear the low snore of the woman next to him, deep in slumber, paying no attention. He adjusted his arm, letting it fall loose by his side, so that the back of his fingers pressed just above Michelle's right knee. She didn't step away or even look down. She kept her eyes towards the front of the train, as if she didn't even notice his touch.

Charlie felt his pulse accelerating. He began to move his finger against Michelle's leg, stroking the smooth skin above her knee. He remembered her standing naked in front of him, that first Saturday, and how she had rubbed her hand again and again over this same spot on her leg, as if feeling for pants that weren't there. Such beautiful long legs, so smooth, so velvety soft.

Slowly, his hand rose, a little bit higher with each stroke, creeping up her leg, moving further under her dress. He peeked up at her, but she still pretended as if nothing was happening. She carefully avoided looking down at him, even as his hand touched her upper thigh.

His fingers found the edge of her panties crossing over her hip. He traced his index finger along this line, back and forth, back and forth, each time going a little bit further, moving closer and closer to her inner thigh.