He sent Ronni a text to meet him in the AV room at lunch time. She didn’t text back, but when he arrived at the room, she was waiting for him.
“Hey,” she greeted him as he walked in. “I heard about your tires. What an awful thing. I can’t believe they did that.”
Charlie leaned against a table. “You heard about that?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “There’s some gossip going around.”
“Does the gossip say who did it?”
“Not really. Football players. No one specific.” She paused. “The rumor is that Glenn was eating lunch with Michelle yesterday, he got up to buy something, and you sat down in his seat while he was gone. Then you refused to move when he came back. Glenn’s friends were mad that you were rude to him, so they slashed your tires in retribution.”
“What!” Charlie couldn’t believe that the rumor mill had turned him into the bad guy. “Are you serious? People are saying that?”
“Yeah. I heard it this morning in home room.”
“I wasn’t rude to Glenn,” Charlie protested. “I sat next to him. We talked about movies. I didn’t take his seat.”
“Well… people like to embellish things, I guess,” Ronni said. “But you must have done something to make someone mad at you.”
“Cody.” Charlie spoke the name with distaste. “Michelle said it was Cody.”
“No surprise. He did it because you sat with Michelle at lunchtime?”
“I’m sure. He threatened me in the morning to stay away from Michelle. Obviously, I didn’t listen. I had lunch with her and he was sitting right there.”
“And your tires paid the price.” Ronni nodded. “Are you going to tell anyone it was him?”
“No. Actually, Michelle says he’s going to pay me back the cost of the new tires. So I guess I’ll just let it go.”
“Wait, what?” Ronni squinted. “Did you say he’s going to pay you back?”
“Michelle talked to him. Michelle and Vanessa. He’s dating Vanessa, so I think she has some influence on him.”
“Wow. Well… that’s good, I guess.”
“Yup.” Charlie glanced down at the folder he held in his arm, then took a quick look behind him, making sure that no one else was around. He continued in a lower voice, “Hey, I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. About Greenholt Gardens?”
“Oh… yeah.”
“It got me thinking. You said no one is there at night, right? It’s completely empty?”
“Just my brother.”
“Right. So what would your brother think about us shooting a short film there?”
“A film?” Ronni frowned. “Like what kind of film? You mean for a class?”
“No. Just for the experience of it.” Charlie held up the folder. “I wrote a screenplay. Will you read it?”
“Okay.” Ronni held out her hand, and Charlie gave her the folder. Ronni opened it and leaned over the stack of papers inside.
“You don’t have to read it now,” Charlie said.
“I want to,” she said. “But will you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Go to the cafeteria and get me a slice of pizza? I like Hawaiian. And maybe an iced tea?”
“Sure.” Charlie watched her anxiously as she started reading the first page of the script. “Um… I’ll be right back.”
When he returned, carrying two slices of pizza, an iced tea for her and a Sprite for himself, Ronni was already past the halfway point in his script. She looked up at him over the top of her glasses and gave him a crooked smile. “The Gwen character is played by Michelle, I take it?”
“Yeah. I haven’t asked her yet… but, yeah.”
“So you’re going to ask her to do nude scenes in a film? Do you think she’ll agree?”
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “She might.”
Ronni held out her hand for the iced tea, and Charlie passed it to her. Ronni sipped from the straw as she returned to reading the script. Charlie set the pizza slices down on the table, and it struck him that he had provided the same meal to Michelle the night before. Only that had been pepperoni, and this was Hawaiian.
And Michelle had eaten hers naked while he licked her pussy.
Charlie sat down in a chair and opened his bottle of Sprite. He took a bite of pizza and washed it down with a swig from his soda. He gazed at Ronni, watching her eyes moving back and forth behind her glasses as she read.
When she reached the end, she shuffled the pages back into a neat stack.“I like it,” she said. “Good dialogue. I like the surrealism of it, and how you’re never sure if Gwen is real or not. It has a David Lynch feel to me.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of what I was going for.”
She held up the title page. “ ‘Anything You Want’? That’s really the title?”
“Um… no, probably not. Just the best I could think of at the time.”
“It’s a little generic.” She put the title page back and closed the folder. “It could be a good movie. But I guess that’s not really the point, is it?” Ronni leaned back in her chair. “It’s really about Michelle, right?”
Charlie didn’t bother to deny it. “Yes.”
“You want to film her naked. You want her to stand outside, naked, in the gardens, and you want to film it.”
Charlie looked down at the floor. “I was talking to her the other day about pursuing a career in film,” he said. “She told me if I ever needed an actress for one of my film projects, she would do it. She said she would even do a nude scene, if I needed her to. I don’t know, maybe she was just talking, maybe she’ll say no when she reads the script…”
“But you think she’ll say yes.” Ronni looked down at the script. “You wrote this script just for her. Including the nudity. You think she wants to do a nude scene in one of your films.”
“I don’t know.” Charlie shook his head. “I mean, she doesn’t have to be nude if she doesn’t want to. I could rewrite that part so she’s wearing a short dress or something…”
“What about the Max and Ingrid characters? How are you going to cast them?”
“I guess I’ll recruit from the theater department. Allison Hayes as Ingrid, maybe?
“Sure,” Ronni said. “I could see her in the role. But whoever it is, Michelle’s going to be naked in front of them. So you better make sure Michelle approves.”
“If Michelle even agrees to be in it.”
“Right. That’s your first step.”
Charlie nodded. “I’ll ask Michelle. Will you ask your brother?”
“I’ll ask my brother.” She offered the folder back to him. “It could be a good short film, Charlie.”
“Keep it. That’s your copy.”
Ronni smiled, returning the folder to her lap. “And what title do I get in the credits, if I help you with this?”
“Assistant Director? Script Supervisor?” Charlie looked at her thoughtfully. “Would you ever consider playing Ingrid?”
“Hell no!” Ronni said. “I like the sound of ‘Producer’, personally.”
“Producer it is,” Charlie said. “Thanks, Ronni.”
Ronni held up her iced tea in a mock salute. “No problem. Let’s go make a film with your nudist girlfriend.” She took a sip from her straw.
***
Charlie met Michelle later that day, in the same AV room. She gave him the $250 from Cody, a stack of twelve crisp twenty-dollar bills and one ten. He gave her a folder.
“What’s this?” she asked, opening the folder and looking at the pages inside.
“A screenplay. I wrote a short film.”
“You did? Can I read it?”
“Of course,” Charlie said. “Actually, I thought you might play one of the characters. A character named Gwen.”
She smiled. “You want me to be in one of your movies? Sure, I’d love to.”
“Maybe you should read it first.”
“Okay.” She flipped through the papers. “I don’t know if I can right now, though. Can I take it with me and give it back to you later?”
“Sure. But just don’t show it to anyone, okay?”
“Okay!” She took a step closer to him. “I’ve been turned on all day thinking about last night,” she whispered. “Walking to my car that way, talking to that man… and the whole time he could see everything… oh my gosh…”
“Yeah. Mr. Fruit Bouquet?”
“Fruit bouquet! Right!” She giggled.
Charlie pointed at the folder. “The movie is set at Greenholt Gardens. Have you ever been there?”
“Oh, sure, I’ve been there. It’s a beautiful place. We had our class picnic there in seventh grade, don’t you remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. Well, it turns out the night watchman at Greenholt Gardens is Ronni’s brother. He’s the only one there at night. So I’m trying to find out if he’ll let us film there. We’d have the whole garden to ourselves.”
Michelle looked down at the folder. “Did you show this to Ronni already?”
“Ronni told me her brother works at the garden. She also told me the garden is pretty much empty at night. So I wrote a screenplay and I intentionally used the garden as a setting. Because we’d be able to go there at night. After it’s closed. When it’s empty.” He gazed at her, wondering if she understood what he was implying. “Ronni’s going to ask her brother if it’s okay.”
“So Ronni’s going to help with the movie?”
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “I haven’t planned anything yet. I just want you to read this, to see what you think.” He hesitated. “Honestly, Michelle… I wrote this screenplay around Greenholt Gardens, but I also wrote it around you. I wanted to write something you might want to be in. If you don’t like it… I mean, if you don’t like it, then that’s fine. I’ll just write something else.”
“Ok, now I’m really curious to read it.” Michelle lifted the folder and peaked in at the first page.
“You know, my mom could tell you were there last night.”
“Oh?” She looked up.
“You left the red imprint of your lips on a glass.”
“Oops. She noticed that? What did she say?”
“Nothing. Just that I shouldn’t be having girls over that if she hasn’t met them. She didn’t make a big deal out of it.”
“Has she met Ronni?” Michelle asked.
“No… Ronni’s never been to my house.”
“I see.” She smiled slightly. “Well, a bit of lipstick isn’t so bad, right? Could’ve been worse. Considering I was sitting naked on your front porch for half an hour.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that long! It was probably like… five minutes?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t have a watch. Or anything else. It felt like a long time.”
He gazed at her, not sure whether to smile or apologize. Instead, he slipped his arms around her waist. He leaned forward and kissed her.
“Charlie!” she whispered, glancing around quickly to make sure they were alone.
“I wanted to see what it was like to kiss you with your clothes on,” he murmured, grinning.
“Shh!” She looked around again. Confirming that they were still as alone as they’d been during their entire conversation, she turned back to him and, smiling, gave him another kiss.
The bell rang. Charlie squeezed Michelle before releasing her. “Read it, okay?”
“I will,” she said. “I promise.”
***
Charlie’s phone rang just as he pulled into his driveway. Michelle’s number. He turned off his car and answered. “Hi.”
“Hi, Charlie,” Michelle said. “I read your movie.”
“Did you like it?”
“You want me to play Gwen, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s naked a lot.”
“Yeah. She is.”
“I don’t know, Charlie… do you think it’s a good idea? Who’s going to see the movie when it’s done?”
“No one has to see it,” he said. “We could put it away and never let anyone watch it.”
Michelle sighed. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure if I even understand what’s happening in the movie. Why is Gwen there? The three of them are outside, Gwen is naked but Max and Ingrid don’t even say anything. Is she supposed to be a nudist or something?”
“No, no… Gwen isn’t real. She’s more like a representation of Max and Ingrid’s sexual tension.”
“Huh?”
“So Max and Ingrid first meet and have a conversation. Gwen comes by, sort of floating around, sometimes joining in their conversation, sometimes just walking near them. Because Max and Ingrid are attracted to each other, but they’ve just met. Later, they see each other again, and Gwen reappears, but now she’s more flirty, and she lets Max and Ingrid strip off some of her clothing… so even though Max and Ingrid are still just casually talking, they’re showing their growing attraction to each other through Gwen.”
“But doesn’t Ingrid think it’s weird that Max is taking off Gwen’s shirt?”
“No, because Gwen isn’t real. She’s not really a person. She’s like their emotions, their hidden feelings for each other.”
“If she’s not real, then how can they talk to her? They talk to her, and she talks back, and they both hear it.”
“It’s meant to be surreal. Have you seen any of David Lynch’s films?”
“I have no idea who that is.”
Charlie thought for a moment. “What about Greek mythology? Zeus, Apollo?”
“Uh huh.”
“Think of Gwen as Aphrodite. Gwen is the Goddess of Love. She’s helping Max and Ingrid fall in love, and as they fall in love, Gwen wears less and less, until finally she’s naked. When she’s naked, that shows that Max and Ingrid are so attracted to each other that they want to make love to each other, even though neither of them has been able to clearly convey it to the other.
Michelle was silent for a moment. “Okay…” she said finally. “I’ll do it. I’ll play Gwen.”
“You will?”
“And you can show it to whoever you want, when it’s done. I’m still confused about what’s happening in the movie, but I can tell that you have a vision. You’re an artist. I want to help you with your art, in any way I can.”
The earnest tone in her voice caught Charlie by surprise and he suddenly remembered that the movie wasn’t supposed to be art, it wasn’t supposed to be anything at all. It was a sham, just an excuse to get Michelle naked in Greenholt Gardens. He started to speak, intending to tell her just that, but now it seemed like a lowlife thing to admit. She was offering to help him achieve a vision; how could he admit to her that his only real vision had been to watch her walking naked through a pretty garden?
“Thanks,” he mumbled. “But, you know, if you’re not comfortable… if you want to wear something, like a dress…I can rewrite it…”
“No. If you want Gwen to be naked, I’ll be naked,” she said firmly. She paused. “I told you I would, remember? On Saturday. I said if you wanted me to do a nude scene in one of your movies, I would do it.”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“Who’s going to play the other characters?” Michelle tried to sound nonchalant, but Charlie could tell she was anxious to hear the answer. She knew she would be nude in front of the other two actors.
“I don’t know yet,” Charlie said. “I haven’t asked anyone. Let’s not worry about that until we hear from Ronni’s brother. If he says no, none of this is going to happen anyway.”
***
But Ronni’s brother said yes. Ronni brought the word on Wednesday. “Nick says it’s okay to film there,” she said. “I told him we would stop by tomorrow at 11:30 PM to look around. Can you make it?”
“I can be there. I’ll ask Michelle if she can make it.”
“It’s late, I
know, but that’s when it’s empty. Any earlier and we might run into the staff from the restaurant.”
Charlie knew his mom wouldn’t care if he was out that late, especially if he told her he was working on a film project. But he wasn’t sure about Michelle. He called her after school and told her the news. “We’ll just meet Ronni’s brother Nick and check out the garden. No filming, just seeing what we have to work with, so I can put together a storyboard. Can you make it?”
“I think so,” Michelle said. “It is late… but it should be okay.”
“I was thinking,” Charlie said, “after Ronni goes home, and her brother gets to his work… we’ll have some time alone in the garden…” He trailed off, hoping she understood what he was suggesting.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Ronni is leaving early?”
“She can’t stay out too late. She says she’s leaving at midnight.”
“So after midnight, it’ll just be you and me. No one else will be in the gardens?”
“Nick will be around, but he mostly guards the front entrance. He has to work.”
“Okay. Wow. The whole garden to ourselves.”
“What if I pick you up at your house, around 10:30?”
“Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Michelle said quickly. “I mean… I can’t really tell my parents what I’m doing, right? If I tell them I’m in a movie, they’ll want to see it when it’s done. And a guy picking me up at 10:30 at night? A guy they don’t know? They won’t go for that either.”
“Okay…”
“I’ll drive to your place and leave my car there. Then you can drive us. Okay?”
“Okay. But what if my mom is home?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’ll want to meet you.”
“She will?” Michelle sounded surprised. “Um… I wasn’t thinking of going inside your house… do you want me to meet your mom?”
“Sure. I mean, not in a super formal kind of way. Just like, here’s Michelle, I’m spending a lot of time with her these days, so you might as well know what she looks like, like that.”
“Uh huh. Okay.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Charlie said. “You sound nervous. Don’t worry, my mom is super cool.”
Saturday Night School 3: Naked Departures Page 8
