3. Sofia
3
SOFIA
S ofia Newman, you should not be flirting with your thesis advisor. I chastise myself several times on my way to the conference room to set up for the first Film Club meeting of the semester. It should be a super easy meeting.
I never flirted with him when Professor Trevino was teaching my freshman class. The excitement must have pushed me over that edge, but the way he pursed his mouth at me after my video ended…
The silence he let me stew in before he gave me his approval stirred something in me that I should really, really avoid.
A little flirting is harmless fun. As long as I don’t let myself dig that hole too deep. And I so could.
Sighing, I settle myself into my seat and pull up my project plans, filling in some story boards with ideas on how to develop different aspects of my life for the documentary. I want to push myself. To try new things. To empower myself.
I help so many women with the female empowerment box I curate and market online. It’s a lot of fun, and I get to showcase how useful taking care of myself as a single mom in college can be.
But I don’t know if I’ve ever empowered myself in the same way I push others to do so.
The decision as a whole is easy, but deciding how to step outside my comfort zone is a little more daunting than I want to admit. Still, once I get a few items on my list, my mind floods with possibilities.
It’s the opposite problem. Too many ideas to whittle down. But it will have to wait until later.
Collin, a junior and future production designer, leans his carrot top into the conference room and smiles widely. “Hey, Soph. We’re still on for noon, right?”
“Yes, sir, we are. You planning to take part in the club film this semester?”
His caramel eyes light up. “You bet I am. I’ll be back after I nab some lunch.”
I wave him off and get a few more of our old club members popping in as I set my cameras up in the corners. I’m getting two external shots since I can easily prop my tripods out of the way.
In the department’s little kitchenette—meant for the professors, but they let me brew some coffee for meetings—I make a big pot and put out the mini muffins I nabbed at the store this weekend for a little treat.
As I wait for members to arrive, I contemplate my meeting this morning. Watching the dawning on Professor Trevino’s face—lighting up those Mediterranean eyes—when I showed him the short video made my day. He gets it. He has to.
I swear a few times I saw him hide a laugh and a smile. I’ve only seen it once before when I showed him one of my favorite banned ads at the end of my class with him four years ago. My goal is to get a real laugh out of him by the end of this. Maybe even a tear.
Even though most of it will be me filming my everyday life.
Pride floats me into the preliminary meeting. A group gathers with their lunches and chatter builds as we wait for noon. I’m punctual. I start the second the clock changes to noon.
Thirteen students have shown up, at least eight of them returning from last year.
“Okay, everyone. I’d love it if we could start. We have three things to agree upon today, so let’s save the stories about our summers and our new projects for after the meeting’s notes. Okay?” I get a slew of nods in response.
Good.
“Excellent. First up is the movie for this month’s viewing. Remember that we will be staying after to discuss some of the elements—story, casting and characters, effects and editing, and composition. What are we thinking?” I spread my palms up to hand off the question to them.
Genres are thrown out there. Horror. Sci-Fi. Noir.
“I’m hearing more votes for Sci-Fi than anything else. Let’s steer that way. Sci-Fi recs?”
“ 2001: A Space Odyssey ?” a new member offers.
I smile softly and tilt my head apologetically. “We watched that last year. Sorry.”
“ The Martian, ” Michelle says. She’s a senior, too, and I’m looking forward to her sharing after the meeting about the script she mentioned earlier.
I point. “That’s an option. Any others?”
“ Interstellar. Story is crazy, but they do a lot of cool stuff with the science and philosophy of it all,” Collin says. “I’ve been dying to talk to people about this one, and no one has seen it.”
Michelle crosses her arms and shakes her short, glossy black curls off her shoulders. “Mine was a book first. The transition of book to movie would make for a great conversation.”
Collin pops up straighter and grins. “Mine’s based on a non-fiction book about the actual science behind what happens in the movie, so we can still have that conversation—only it’ll be weirder.”
Michelle laughs. “Okay. I concede.”
“Any objections?” I ask, badly suppressing my own smile at Collin’s shenanigans.
Nos murmur around the room, so I nod and mark it down. Easy.
“Let’s move on to item two. We need to start thinking about the concept/theme for this semester’s Club Short Film. Remember that we want to limit this to twenty minutes of play time with a complete story—or a complete arc.”
Cindy, a slight young woman with almond-shaped eyes, leans in. She’s a sophomore from last year’s members, too. “Michelle was talking about a short script she’s been working on. Maybe we can workshop it to see if it’s a good fit?”
Michelle winks at Cindy for the assist.
“We can definitely consider that. Any other suggestions?”
A lot of shaking heads.
“Can we hear more about it before we decide?” a new girl asks.
“Yes. Absolutely. Michelle, can you bring us your pitch and some pages for the next meeting so we can review it?”
“Heck yeah. And just so you know, it’s an ultra-modern Shakespeare retelling of King Lear .” Michelle’s delicate hands spread across the conference table’s top. The move is adorable.
“Consider our interest piqued. Okay, let’s table this until next week. Think over what you all might want to bring in for this project.”
A newcomer leans against the entryway, golden curls, a soft pattern of freckles, high cheekbones and a defined jaw. Clear blue eyes shift to take me in when I notice him. How long has he been hovering there?
“Do you want to come in and join us?” I ask.
Some of the girls perk up at the sight of him, smiling and blushing. I resist rolling my eyes but only just.
“No. I’m good where I am.” He sticks his hands in his pockets, accentuating his lean waist and broad shoulders. The man doesn’t quite smile, but his eyes glitter.
This irks me, but I pull in a slow, soft breath and release it.
“Last item on our list for today is the trip to New York City. We’ve got a few conventions coming, some new independent films expected to have screenings. What are you guys thinking?” My pen twirls as I wait.
I could easily bowl everyone over and just make the decision, but I want them all to be as happy as I am about what we do.
“Isn’t there a screening of Lancaster’s new B-rated horror supposed to come out this year?” Donna, a sweet redhead who came in with Cindy, offers.
Lancaster graduated last year, but he was an awesome VP for the club before he left.
“No, they postponed it until next semester. We can totally plan to go see it then, though.”
I wait to see if anyone else has a suggestion.
“Okay, I’ll bring you all a list of options next time. Feel free to share any of your own with me before or during the next meeting.”
The golden guy stares at me, arms crossed and filling out his shirt a bit more than before.
Ignoring him, I look around. “Any other business?”
“Can we have those cookies next week?” Ryan asks from behind his shaggy bangs.
I grin. It’s the recipe Noah insisted on trying, which meant a lot of testers to go around. “Yes. We can have the cookies next week.”
He smiles a little, and I look around one more time. “Okay. Share time.”
We go around the room and share our summer highlights and the projects we’re working on. Michelle grabs my hand. “You ready for this?”
I laugh, nodding. “Lay it on me.”
“Think Blade Runner meets Elysium . Gritty futuristic with only a few bells and whistles needed for post production.” Michelle’s eyes are bright as she flashes a grin at everyone. “Realistic AI, lots of treachery, backstabbing, and death. And I mean—spoiler—everyone important dies at the end.”
It sounds so good.
“It’ll be interesting to see how you condense the characters and set up the world within the allotted time frame,” the golden guy says, a small smile curving his mouth. It almost seems as if he’s teasing. I cannot take him seriously.
“That’s why it’s a retelling .” Michelle nearly giggles. Oh, please no. Be smarter than this, Michelle.
I squeeze her hand, and she gives me a come on, he’s cute look.
Shaking my head, I push everyone along. Some of the newcomers are a bit braggy, but that comes with being new, huh? Young, wanting to impress.
Everyone packs up to leave, and I wait them out, knowing I will need to clean up before I leave. They’re slow going. All of the girls want to stop and flirt with the golden guy, and all of the guys want to give him a warm welcome.
Once everyone’s gone, this guy is still hovering, watching me collect muffin wrappers.
“Who are you?” I ask, and it seems to jolt him from his confident swagger. Apparently, my lack of fawning and eyelash fluttering has disarmed him.
Even so, his clear blue eyes are sparkling at me. “Orion Knight. And you’re Sofia Newman, Film Club President.”
I sigh, popping a hand on my hip. “That I am.”
He holds out his hand. “I’m your new faculty sponsor.”
I take his hand hesitantly, and when he lingers over the touch, I ignore the heat from his grip and pull mine back, shooting him a look. “Well, Professor Knight, as you can see, I’ve got this handled.”
He almost glows with acceptance of my unspoken challenge. “Afraid you won’t be getting rid of me that easily.”