Ch-79

"Finally!" I exclaimed as I sat beside my parents in the theater at our home. "I thought you would never be done with this film. You said it would take a week to finish it, and that was more than a month ago!"

"Stop whining," Evan clapped back in irritation while setting up the projector. "Do you want to see it or not?"

I promptly shut up hearing that.

"Besides," Evan continued as he walked over to us after dimming the lights, "Alfonso inspired me a lot with his filming techniques, and I made some changes in a few of the scenes and the editing process."

"Ignore him, Evan," Dad piped in. "These actors won't understand what it means to be a filmmaker."

"Yup," I could sense Evan's grin in the dark room. "All they care about is looking good and showing as much emotion as possible in one scene. They don't care about the story at all."

"Hey!" I protested. "Don't gang up on me."

"Can we please start the film?" Mum said, cutting our little argument short. "I want to see what my kids have whipped up."

Without waiting for any other reminder, Evan held the remote of the projector high and pressed the play button.

While Mum had implied I had a lot to do with the film, I didn't. I shot for a few initial days, and then my part was over. After that, it was all Evan. I didn't even see the shooting or post-production of the rest of the film because I was busy with Broadway or filming [Harry Potter].

The movie in question began playing, and all my attention was on the screen which showed my dearest Loki in the first shot. He had grown a lot since then, but it was unmistakable that this was Loki. Real Loki, who was resting on the foot of my chair, perked up seeing himself on the screen.

And then I heard Jamie Bell's voice speaking in the background, "My name is Loki, and I'm the cutest thing on Earth, ain't I? I like to do what any other dog my age would. Eat, sleep, chase around the neighborhood cats, and most importantly, play with my human."

As each of those actions was being spoken by Jamie, a clip of Loki eating, sleeping, chasing around a stray cat, or playing fetch with me came on screen.

"That last one is my favorite activity, though. I love my human a lot, and he gives me perfect belly rubs." Cue, a clip of me giving belly rubs to Loki.

"But we cannot be together all the time," Jamie continued. "After our morning run together, he would go off to someplace with other short humans like him, all of them looking similar. Though I would know instantly when it was him when he's back."

He was referring to the similar uniforms that kids wear while going to school. We had bought a common school uniform for me to portray this character.

"And I would be sad when he was away." Loki looked like a kicked puppy with his sad face and ears drooped. "But not for long!" Suddenly his ears perked up again as I came rushing into the house in my school uniform, and as soon as I did, he ran up to me and jumped in my arms before licking my face.

"Then one day, everything changed," Jamie said in an ominous voice as there was a huge crashing sound. Loki turned towards the sound and ran outside through a hole in the door, only to be left confused by the scene in front of him.

A car had climbed upon the sidewalk, and a few people were bickering loudly while there were bloodstains on the floor. Loki turned to a corner to see an ambulance rushing away from the scene.

"I didn't know what was happening, but I could smell my human in that liquid on the ground."

My heart broke just a little hearing that. I know it is a very depressing topic to make a film where the owner of the dog gets killed in a car crash, but that was what Evan wanted to do. And since this was not some commercial film, I didn't want to stand in the way of his creative freedom.

"I was taken away to a new home," Jamie said in a broken voice. "The new place was dark and cold, and I felt so lonely there."

As that was being said, Loki was put in a cage before being left in a shelter. They didn't even remove him from his cage. I felt my heart break that this scene was shot at all. I bent down and pulled the real Loki into my lap and gave him head rubs. He purred in my arms as I hugged him. Reluctantly, I continued seeing how Evan would end the film. He had planned for Loki to be adopted by someone else, but I didn't know who this someone else would be because Evan shot that part when I was not around.

Jamie went on to explain a few things about the shelter, like how he had to bark loudly if he wanted a meal or how the other dogs would ignore him because he was little.

Passage of time is shown in a very cool transition shot as Loki is shown from all angles in a revolving camera shot, multiple times, as he grows up from a tiny pup to a larger pup. Not yet adolescent, but big enough that the difference was quite obvious for the viewers.

"And then came the day when I accidentally bit one of my caretakers…" Jamie said ominously. "I didn't want to. I had heard horror stories from other dogs about how those who bite humans are given the pointy, painful needle that puts them to sleep. On the bright side, maybe I can be with my human again…" Jamie finished wistfully.

My heart broke again as I heard that while looking at Loki's terror-stricken face in the video.

"Then the bad human came and picked up my cage. I just knew today would be my last day." The video showed Loki being carried to the front of the shop. He was whimpering inside the cage before… the cage was opened.

"What?" Jamie said in surprise. "What is happening?" Suddenly, Loki sniffed audibly. "Wait, is that…?"

He didn't finish his sentence as Loki ran out of the shop and into the street where I had just stepped out of the car. Loki jumped into my arms hard, making me crash back into the seat of my car. I couldn't help but laugh on screen as he showed me his utmost affection by licking my face.

"And then all was good again," Jamie said one final time as the screen blacked out before the credits started rolling.

I stood up from my seat furiously, letting Loki down on the floor, and turned to one grinning Evan. "You assface! Why didn't you tell me you changed the climax of the story? I thought I died!" Then suddenly it hit me. "When did you shoot that last scene?"

Evan didn't look apologetic as he replied, "Last week. Remember you were shooting late in the night and had stayed at a hotel near the set because of the paparazzi."

I nodded in realization. "And then the next day, when I came home, you and Loki were not home at all. Mum said you had to shoot. I was so angry with you! And then when I met him after a gap of three days, he jumped me."

"Yup," Evan grinned. "It was all planned. I wanted him to feel isolated from you so he would show genuine love when you reunite. I also got Jamie to voice for Loki as you may have observed."

"You asshole," I said with a grin.

"Hey!" Mum rebuked with a glare directed at me. "No cursing." Then she smiled as she looked at Evan. "That was a wonderful movie, Evan. I loved it a lot."

"Thanks, Kathy," Evan said shyly.

"It wasn't just good," Dad added his two cents. "It was great. Your camera sense is marvelous. That revolving shot showing Loki growing up was some of the best filmmaking I have seen in a rookie film. And the emotion was perfect. You grasped it so well, that I don't think anyone would remain dry-eyed when the film ends."

"True," I conceded to Dad's praise. "It was a very good film." The only problem I had with the film was Jamie's voice. Since I knew him personally, it broke the fourth wall for me and reduced the magic it could have done had it been someone else voicing Loki. But that would be nitpicking, so I didn't voice my thoughts.

"You're only saying this to make me feel good, aren't you?" Evan asked.

"No," Dad insisted. "If you don't believe me, why don't you enter it at some film festivals? Then you'll know for sure how good it is."

"Maybe I will," Evan nodded excitedly.

Although I would never say this to him, I think Evan going to a film festival would be a waste of his time. It would be better for him to hone his craft more by watching different genres of films and shooting more short films. And when he is older, I could directly finance one of his full-length films. Or Dad could. We certainly had money to spare. Film festivals for short films are mostly a way for film students and wannabe filmmakers to get financing to shoot a feature-length film. And Evan didn't need it.

But he needed people's recognition for his work. I knew how fragile his confidence was, and there was no better place to build it than a film festival where total strangers would appreciate his work. And I know they will appreciate it because the film was that good.

(Break)

"You wanted to speak with us, Troy?" Dad asked as he took a seat in the sitting room beside Mum and offered me the opposite seat. Evan was having his personal tutor over at the moment, which is why I chose this time because I didn't want him to be present during this discussion.

"Yes," I nodded before taking the offered seat. "I have been thinking a lot about my future, and I have concluded that I need to do something besides acting."

Seeing the confused faces of my parents, I rushed to explain to them, "Don't get me wrong, I love acting, and I will continue it as long as I'm able to, but I need something to do when I'm not acting. I have seen some of the top actors' works, and I have observed that they do not make too many movies each year. If I were to follow that trend, I would be very bored for the rest of the year."

Looking at me skeptically, Mum asked, "What do you have in mind?"

I paused, not wanting to say it out loud. I didn't like it, but I also knew that this would be best for me and would give me an alternate career choice if I so wished. I had thought about this long and hard and I wouldn't go back from my decision now.

"I want to go to university," I finally said it. "Not for some academic course, but maybe for something like music composition, or drama, or maybe even filmmaking."

"You wanna be a filmmaker as well?" Dad asked eagerly. He was elated when Evan had asked him about becoming a filmmaker, so obviously he'd feel the same about me.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I just know that I want to try out other avenues."

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Mum proclaimed before Dad could say anything. "I always wanted you to complete your education, and going to Uni is as much a part of growing up as anything else. However, your course choice would have to be narrowed down a little. Music, Drama, and Filmmaking are three distinct school choices that have their own unique admissions tests like playing an instrument/singing, acting, and showing your self-made film. And you haven't even shot anything yet."

"You won't be able to go to a drama school," Dad pointed out helpfully. "There is an age requirement of 18 to enroll in most schools. While I'm sure we can convince the dean to give you special consideration given who you are, your peers won't respect you and think you only got in because of your fame."

I frowned as the reality of the situation hit me. It would suck if everyone was saying behind my back how I was the 'privileged kid'. I didn't want that treatment at all.

"Why is there such a requirement when it is not in most other classes?" I asked.

"Because some of the material they cover has adult themes," Dad said matter-of-factly. "As a part of their curriculum, many times teachers expect students to perform naked to build confidence and leave their inhibitions aside. Then there are love scenes—"

"On second thought, drama school doesn't look all that appealing to me anymore."

"Thought so," Dad smirked.

Being an actor for so long, I had accepted sex and nudity as part of the business, but I wasn't eager to do that any time soon. Moreover, I think I'm more of a learning-by-doing kind of guy as far as acting is concerned. Also, if I were to go to an acting school, everyone would ask me why I even needed the classes given my acting prowess.

"And given how you haven't made any films till now," Mum spoke up this time. "Is it safe to assume that your first preference would be a music school?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"Or," Dad said before we could finalize it, "you could not go to college at all. I would enroll you with some of the best tutors in London for anything you need. Be it music or drama. You could learn filmmaking like Evan on the set if you really want that. By tutors, I'm not talking about some amateurs teaching kids. They will be real acclaimed teachers that we couldn't have afforded back when you started working. This way you could even continue martial arts or dance classes that you left because of your busy schedule. A college course is very rigid and you will have to take some theoretical classes as well if you go that route. This way you'll be free to pursue whatever you want and whenever you want."

I sighed. Those were a lot of decisions to make for me in quite a small amount of time.

"I'll have to think about it," I said after a few moments. I was more confused about my future options than when I came here with my request.

Dad nodded. "You still have a year before the next university year begins, so think all you want. As much as I loved my college days, I didn't learn anything useful for my work there."

I was about to go back to my room but stopped when the conversation continued. "I think we should also discuss the financial aspects of the business with him as well," Mum said to Dad.

"What financial aspects?" I asked, but it was Dad who replied.

"I got a call from Andrew Cohen yesterday. He wanted to know if you need to adjust any of your investments now or if there were any standing instructions for him?"

"No," I declined that idea immediately.

While I didn't have a lot of cash last year because of my investments in [Billy Elliot the Musical], I had recouped all of that amount and even generated a fixed weekly revenue from both the West End and Broadway productions. Not to mention, my payday of $50 million from [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets] had also arrived, leaving me quite flush with cash.

So I had done what any person would—I made some investments. While my parents recommended real estate, I politely declined that offer and focused instead on the stock market. Using my déjà vu powers, I created a dream portfolio for any time traveler. I invested heavily in stocks like Apple, Amazon, Netflix, NVIDIA, McDonald's, and PepsiCo. The first four because I knew about their astronomical rise in the future, and the last two because I knew how much Americans love their Big Macs and Lay's.

"I don't want to sell either of these investments," I insisted. "Even if the price falls a lot, I don't have a stop-loss. When I receive my next paycheck, I'll decide then if I want to invest somewhere else or not."

My parents didn't look happy, but they must have sensed that my stance was final so they accepted my decision.

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