Chapter 6 - Ch 6: Benjamin Lucas

{3rd Person POV}

It was a very cloudy day.

Dark skies, cold, dry and fast wind, people hurriedly walking to their homes, and of course, traffic jams.

And a middle aged man with a pretty large beard, bald head with an expensive looking suit was looking at this all.

"Here's your Americano, sir." Said a voice from his left, startling the man a little. Looking at the waiter, the man gave a small nod, and the waiter left.

This was Benjamin Lucas. A small cinematographer, who was barely scraping by these days.

Why was he in a café, you may ask? Well, he was called by a person called Oliver Knight who said he wanted to hire Benjamin for his film.

Benjamin, having no other option, asked Oliver to meet him at this café and told him that they'll discuss about the movie.

He needed the money, but that didn't mean he'll sign up for anything. Afterall, Benjamin had standards. So, meeting the director and discussing about the movie and how he wanted the movie to be shot would tell away that Oliver fellow's character and what the movie was about.

However, now that was looking unlikely due to the bad weather condition.

Immediately afterwards, the bells stuck to door rang as a very young looking man in his early 20s entered the Café.

He looked around a bit, and after his eyes landed on Benjamin, he started walking towards him with a smile.

By this point, Benjamin had a bad feeling.

'Wait, is that Oliver guy? A young, early 20s man? I can't believe this!'

Getting close to the table, the young man immediately sat down on the opposite side of Benjamin.

Right now, the sirens in Benjamin's head were blaring, telling him of the dangers that the young man infront of him would cause.

He thought that Oliver Knight would be a middle aged man like him, not a young, inexperienced person! He was quite frustrated and irritated, really.

And he had the right to be like that.

Afterall, all the young directors he had worked with work snobbish and arrogant rich kids, or people who thought that they could make their way to the top with only hard work and dedication.

And he was waiting for just that kind of behaviour.

"Mr. Benjamin Lucas, right?" He asked politely.

"That's me. And I assume you're Oliver Knight, yes?" Benjamin replied.

"Yes, I am Oliver Knight. Nice to meet you." Oliver moved his hand forward for a handshake.

Benjamin stared at Oliver's hand for a few seconds before bringing his own hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too, kid." Benjamin taunted. He was expecting Oliver to retort aggressively or atleast try to tell Benjamin that he wasn't a kid.

But Oliver just smiled, not saying anything. He was just staring at Benjamin, expecting him to continue.

Seeing this, Benjamin moved on to next subject. "Anyways, tell me about the movie."

Oliver searched inside his small bag, and brought out a book, which he gave to Benjamin.

Opening it, Benjamin saw that the pages were filled with drawings about ideas on how to shoot certain scenes.

Benjamin was amazed. He could see that Oliver had put a lot of effort into this. The drawings weren't that great, but they were good enough to understand what the scene was.

Rarely has he seen young directors do this. They either say that they have everything inside their heads or just leave it to Benjamin to figure out.

This was a breath of fresh.

"I'm sorry if my drawings aren't that great, but this should help you." Benjamin looked up, and stared at Oliver for some time.

Neither said anything, but Oliver looked a bit uncomfortable after staying in silence.

"Um, is something wrong?"

"No... no actually. I'm just surprised that you made this." Benjamin said.

"Oh, Okay. Then, let's continue. I'll explain the story and which drawing is which scene."

Soon, Oliver stared explaining the movie to Benjamin. And he found the young man to be a competent storyteller.


---

"The final shot is Dr. Samuel looking over the balcony, only to find that Michael Myers wasn't there anymore. And that's the end of the film."

Finishing the explanation, Oliver huffed a little, and drank the tea he had ordered.

"So, what do you think, Mr.  Benjamin?"

Benjamin Lucas, someone who had been in Hollywood for atleast 10 years, was flabbergasted at what happened.

Not only was the young man sitting infront of him not a rich asshole or a naïve kid, he was competent to boot.

'I think he'll be a great person to work with. I should accept his offer and maybe, just maybe, my career will receive a boost.'

Benjamin thought as he stared intently at Oliver.

"I think this is a great script you've made. And I appreciate the fact that you spent this much time to draw how you wanted the scenes to be shot. It'll really help me." Benjamin paused, and then continued. "You're not an asshole, or a naïve kid, and you actually know how stuff works."

A genuine, soft smile formed on Benjamin's face.

"I have a feeling you're going to have a bright future ahead of you. So, I'll accept your offer."

Oliver was visibly surprised, to say the least. He never expected Benjamin to agree to do the job considering all the things Oliver heard about him.

However, this was great news. Halloween was one step closer to becoming a reality. It wasn't going to be a dream anymore.

And having signed on all the actors and the crew, the shooting was about to start.

"Thank you, Mr. Benjamin." Oliver gave Benjamin the contract, which he quickly read over and signed.

"Welcome to the team." Oliver brought forward his, and this time instead of leaving Oliver's jand in the air, Benjamin shook his hand immediately.

 ---

As Oliver was leaving the Café with Benjamin, with the rain having stopped, Benjamin asked him an important question.

"So, when do you think the shooting will start realistically?" He asked Oliver.

Oliver stopped in his tracks and thought for a few seconds.

"Hmm, I think in about a week or two." Facing Benjamin, he continued. "I have already scouted the locations, so I only need the shooting permit. I contacted the authorities, and they said they'll give it me in ten-to-fifteen days. Until then, I'll be buying things and preparing stuff for the actors and crew."

"I see." Benjamin nodded. "Well then, kid, see you in two weeks." Benjamin walked away, but not before giving a small wave.

"*Sigh* That was quite the day, huh?" Oliver said looking up at the sky with a smile. "My dream will come true soon. Soon... ah!" Seeing a taxi close by, he ran towards it.

"Hey, taxi!" He shouted.

The taxi stopped, and Oliver quickly hopped inside, with the car leaving soon after.

~~~

There's chapter 6! Hope you liked it, because I certainly did. Anyways, I'll update on 30th April too. I have way too much free time this weekend. That'll start the shooting "arc".