Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 103 School starts

   Donna came back from school and was very happy to meet her cousin Ronnie's girlfriend. Secretly said to Ronald, "Your girlfriend is prettier than those female classmates in high school."

   Ronald laughed. The four put on formal attire and headed to the best steakhouse in town for a meal. Aunt Karen looked at Ronald and Antonia, smiling happily.

  After dinner, Ronald took Antonia to the hotel. Antonia went to change and take a shower. Ronald was alone in his thoughts. The words Tereza Kate said to him in the afternoon always haunted him.

   "Dear, what's the matter with you? I rarely see you being so preoccupied". Antonia came out of the bathroom, hugged Ronald from behind and asked.

   "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about the start of school." Ronald made up his mind to seize the time the two spent together and not let Antonia worry about it. No one can tell the future of young people, maybe there will be a turning point in the future?

   "Ronnie, you know what? You like to scratch your ears when you lie." Antonia grinned.

   "Tonya, I…"

   "No, don't say it." Antonia gently sealed Ronald's mouth with her lips, preventing him from speaking.

  …

   Ronald got out of bed, poured a glass of water for dear Tonia and brought it to the head of the bed. Antonia took half of the drink and patted the board to signal him to lie down.

   Ronald lay down on the bed, and Antonia put his strong arms around her shoulders, then leaned her head back in Ronald's arms. The two did not speak, enjoying a moment of tenderness and tranquility.

   Ronald looked at the girl in his arms, a warm touch in his hand, indicating that this was what really happened. I really love this girl who is independent and self-reliant. Looking at her slightly childish face, Ronald touched it with his hand.

  The girl moved, and Ronald said, "Tonya, did I wake you up?"

   "No, I haven't slept yet, I like you to call me Tonya."

   "Then I'll call you Tonia, my dear"

"Um."

   "Tonya."

"Um."

After a while, Antonia remembered something and laughed: "You know, Ronnie, if you really loaded me that day, I would obediently have to marry you and be the mother of our children. . My beliefs do not allow abortion."

   Ronald also smiled, remembering his eagerness that morning: "If you had a baby for me, would you prepare breakfast for me every day and get my dry cleaning?"

   "Of course, I have to cook lunch and dinner for you, have a child, and send him to school every day."

   Ronald hugged Antonia. "I know, Donia. But I can't be so selfish. Ballet is your dream."

"I also know that being a film director is your dream, Ronnie, and sometimes I think, if you were a less ambitious stage assistant, I'd marry you and meet every day at the ballet. "

   "Then you won't fall in love with me, Tonya."

   "I will, you are so cute." Antonia touched Ronald's ear. "The first time I saw you at the audition, I thought you were interested in me."

   Ronald recalled that when he saw her, he was the same person as the actor in his dream, so he must have lost his temper. So he smiled and said nothing.

   After a while, he spoke:

   "When I'm rich, I'll be the patron of your ballet company, on the condition that you have children for me." Ronald also began to talk about his daydreams.

   "Pfft, then I'm waiting for this day, the new patron of the New York City Ballet, Ronald Lee."

   "What, you've joined the New York City Ballet? Tonya?"

  Antonia nodded, "Mr. Balanchine, the founder, personally selected me. Soon I will graduate early, join the City of New York, and start as a dance student."

   "That's great, Tonya, congratulations."

  The two young people are caught in the longing for the future and the fear of the unknown.

   The next day, Ronald took Antonia to play around Staten Island, and also went to the Italian settlement in the northern part of the island to eat pizza. Staten Island is dominated by whites, the Italian-inhabited area is close to the north of the island, and then there is the black area.

  The Italian pizza here is not as good as Little Italy in Manhattan, but the two still enjoyed it.

On Staten Island, cut off from direct land transportation from Manhattan, Ronald felt as if he had been cut off from the future, as if he had become a farmer and Antonia had become a peasant woman, and the two would spend their entire lives here and have several children. .

   But the holiday will finally come to an end. The day when Antonia joins New York City is approaching. The two reluctantly bid farewell to the paradise and returned to Manhattan on earth.

   A few days after returning to Manhattan, Antonia joined the New York City Ballet. The training for newcomers was very intense, and Ronald sometimes did not see Tonya for a few days. The two can only express their feelings on the phone when they are free.

   A few more days passed, and in a blink of an eye it was time for Ronald to start his own school. Ronald drove to Washington Square to check in.

New York University originally had its own campus, but it encountered a financial crisis in the early 1970s and was forced to sell the entire campus of the Bronx University Heights to the newly established City University of New York in 1973. Enough money to avoid bankruptcy.

  Now New York University, the teaching buildings of various colleges are scattered all over Manhattan, each college has its own building, euphemistically called: a university without walls.

  Near Washington Square, New York University has a student center and school office location as a place for incoming freshmen.

  Ronald parked his car and went to pay the tuition.

   There are many new students, who are sent by their parents and the whole family. The father drives the car, and the mother is responsible for the logistics. They send the new students to the school, and then the student apartments are arranged.

  Like Ronald, not many come by himself. Even fewer are paying tuition fees on their own.

   Aunt Karen wanted to take a leave of absence to send Ronald to college, but Ronald persuaded him to send him to the school instead of attending the graduation ceremony. In the future, the nephew can come at any time, and there is no need to worry about whether to send it to the university. Besides, Ronald also has his own apartment, and he does not need to live in a dormitory, and there is no place for Aunt Karen to play.

   There are still a lot of materials on the front desk, Ronald picked up some to look at.

   "Student Loans", Ronald smiled and put it down.

   In addition, inflation is already running at an annualized interest rate of 30%, which is very high. There are very few low-interest student loans processed by the federal government, and these commercial loans are comparable to loan sharks.

  If the people at the bottom want to stand out, if they are not lucky, they have to continue to struggle for several generations.

  Dish Art Institute is not in Washington Square, not far from where Ronald lives.

   Looking at the courses he could choose from, Ronald actually didn’t understand a bit. He just had to try it out after the semester started, and then decide whether to choose some courses. Of course, I have to learn about film and television, and let’s see if the other things are interesting.

   (end of this chapter)