Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

"You want to buy shares of Yahoo?" Steve asked in confirmation.

I nodded, "Yes, it is an emerging stock in the current market and is soon expected to enter the Fortune 500 companies. It provides excellent solutions to people searching for things on the Internet. Last year, they introduced their free email service to everyone with internet access with near-instant messaging. So I feel that their future prospects are good as young people want to work more with computers and the internet than with papers."

Steve had a contemplative look on his face, "Why only Yahoo and not some other companies as well?"

"If I invest in more companies, my risk will come down but so will my returns. However, I am betting on this company to do well because I have done some research and its prospects look good." I presented him with detailed information about all I could find through newspapers and Steve's computer. Steve did own a system that had a semi-decent internet for the time we were in.

Steve read through the information for a few minutes while I waited patiently.

I looked up at him when he sighed audibly, "Son, while I'm not very good with stocks, I can see that its price has already risen 10 times in the past 2 years. It doesn't seem likely it will rise anymore for it is already overvalued. Your investment, instead of increasing, may as well decrease. Are you ready to bear the losses in such a case?"

I nodded solemnly.

"Alright."

I was a little shocked hearing that word from him, "Just like that?"

"Yes. While I don't think you will get much profit or any profit at all, it will be a good learning experience for you. However, all money will be your own and I will not allow you to make any bets or speculations."

Like I had suspected. No playing with Derivatives.

Steve continued, "I'll get in contact with my financial manager and set up a trust account for you. As you are not an adult, you cannot open a trading account in your own name so I'll open a trust account with you being the sole beneficiary when you come of age. Before that, withdrawals or any transactions can be made only with my or Kathy's permission. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, Dad, for trusting me with this," I answered sincerely with a smile.

"It's your own money kid. If it increases, good for you. If it doesn't, you'll learn an important life lesson."

While I don't like that he thinks I'll make a loss, I'll take what I get.

(Break)

It took a whole week for the Trust account to be set up and registered in my name with the Bank of America. To ease up the matters, Steve transferred the full amount of $40,000 that I had requested to the trading account that was under the control of our financial manager, Andrew Cohen.

Andrew was a Jewish man, the same age as Steve. They knew each other from their college days and later on Steve hired him to manage his funds. Steve, being the conservative person he was, mostly invested in Treasury Bills and AAA Corporate Bonds.

To say Andrew was astonished by our request will be an understatement.

Under our current agreement, he will act strictly as my stock broker without investing in any other shares without my (Steve's) permission. Andrew will take 1% of the transaction amount as his own commission. As the commission was kept low, the major responsibility to keep track of my shares lies with me.

I gave him a standing order, "If the price exceeds $400, sell it all. But preferably call us."

Andrew gave me a smile, "Aren't you being a little too ambitious kid? The current price of Yahoo in the market is around $33. It has fallen sharply in the last week alone. And you're aiming for $400?"

I was almost giddy with joy when I saw that the price of Yahoo had fallen further from the previous week. More profit for me baby.

"The more it falls before I buy, the cheaper for me, right?" I asked innocently.

Andrew laughed out loud then turned to Steve, "You got a sharp kid, Steve."

"Don't I know that?" Steve grinned back, "As per Troy's decision, invest the full $40,000 in Yahoo stock after deducting any initial expenses and your commission of course."

I was betting everything I had on Yahoo. Hopefully, things will go in a similar direction as I had expected or my parents will never trust me with anything else money-related.

"$50 has already been deducted from that as initial expenses," Andrew explained while fiddling with a calculator. "I'll buy you stocks worth $39,950 within the hour. Is it acceptable?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"Perfect."

(Break)

So temporarily, I became a part owner of Yahoo! Bought at an average price of $32.60, I owned 1,225 shares under my trust account. With that done, I decided to forget about it for the upcoming year at the very least.

Another thing noteworthy in September was the release of the Philosopher's Stone in the USA. Scholastic Books, who had been given the American rights to the novel, released it on the 1st of September, 1998, and took the American market by storm. An instant classic was what people were calling it.

The other thing was my new classes at the Crossroads school which were very similar to my old school: boring and repetitive for me. The only good thing was the new drama and music clubs I had joined recently.

Ever since I started my music lessons, I practiced my singing and guitar daily. I may not be the most proficient guitarist or vocalist out there but I like to think I am doing better than most people my age. So here I am, in the school's music room, practicing after hours.

~: I may not always love you:

I strung the guitar to the rhythm as I played the Beach Boys' classic song.

: But long as there are stars above you,

You never need to doubt it,

I'll make you so sure about it,

God only knows what I'd be without you.

If you should ever leave me,

Though life would still go on believe me,

The world could show nothing to me,

So what good would living do me?

God only knows what I'd be without you:

I repeated the chorus line a few times and finally stopped.

clap clap clap

I was dumbfounded to see our music teacher, Mr. Paul Tanner, standing right in front of me with a goofy grin on his face, "That was awesome Troy! Have you been taking lessons before this?"

"Thank you, sir," I probably blushed at getting caught unaware but quickly put it behind me, "And yes, I have been taking music lessons for a year."

"Let me tell you this, your voice has a maturity and confidence that most people your age don't." His ever-present smile was infectious and my lips upturned unconsciously.

That is until the meaning of his words dawned upon me.

"Do I sound like an old person?" I asked, feeling a little self-conscious. I know that having a mature voice is good for singers, but as a child actor, it would be a nightmare for me.

"No, no. You misunderstand," Mr. Tanner shook his head emphatically, "Your voice has a stability and experience that even many experienced people don't. Your guitar work is also exceptionally good if you've been practicing for only a year." Here he gave me a questioning look to confirm that theory.

I nodded to confirm that.

"Then I'm afraid to say…" He gave a dramatic pause here, "...you Troy will go very far if you become a musician."

Really?

"Really?" I voiced my thoughts.

"Indeed. Just keep practicing daily and you can then join either the school band or the a capella group." His voice betrayed his excitement.

"But I'm an actor, sir! I want to focus on that. Music is something I just like playing with," I declined politely. Working on music professionally is too much too soon. I would definitely go for it if I didn't have school so often, but unfortunately, I do.

"Do you have any idea how much talent you will be wasting if you don't share your music with the world?" Mr Tanner looked a little disappointed but not overly so.

"It's too much sir. I have to continue acting at the moment, that too with regular school. Maybe when I am older, I can try it?" I tried to appease him, "Though I won't stop practicing."

Mr. Tanner nodded slowly in acceptance when a look of realization dawned upon him, "You are already an actor? Have you worked somewhere?"

Oops. I shouldn't have said that. While the principal and my homeroom teacher were informed about my job, other teachers weren't. And from the looks of things, Mr. Tanner wasn't told by either of them.

I sighed in defeat. It is bound to come out one day, "Yes I have worked in a short film which won 2 awards at this year's Sundance festival. Then we made a feature film out of it which will be released on HBO in November. Its trailer should be out by now on WB and its affiliate channels."

He looked impressed, "That's great, kid! So what role did you play? The protagonists' son?"

"I am the protagonist." Despite what Mr. Tanner may tell you, I didn't sound like a smug bastard.

Okay, maybe a little?

Mr. Tanner raised an eyebrow at that, "Wow. When I was your age, all I could hope for was getting the male lead in the school play and here you are, already getting lead roles in movies."

"It's not like that sir, the film was written, directed, and produced by my father. It was just a short film to teach me acting, but HBO liked it and wanted to make it a full-length film if I acted in it." I answered, a little abashed.

"Kid, there's a common saying in Hollywood, don't hesitate to use your connections to get a role or you'll regret it for life," He paused as he looked away in the distance.

Suddenly, he shook his head for a second, "Sorry, that got too deep for you, right?"

I wanted to say no, but thought better of it and didn't reply to the rhetorical question.

"By the way, what did you say was the name of the film? I'll watch it with my family and tell all my friends as well that a student of mine has become a star." He gave me a winning smile.

This is embarrassing.

"You probably shouldn't watch it with family," I winced mentally as I said that, "The movie is adult-themed and even I'm not allowed to watch it until I am much older."

"Okay, so it's an R-rated film, got it. Still, it must have a name, right?" He was persistent, I'll have to give him that.

"It's called [Sex Education]," I answered reluctantly.

He looked gobsmacked for a moment then whispered something inaudible, then in a louder tone, "Why are you working on such a movie? What was your father thinking?"

"Hey," I raised my voice for the first time, "He's a great father, so don't talk about stuff you don't know, okay?"

He looked chastised for a moment but soon opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off, "Also, none of the 'adult' scenes were shot in front of me or when I was on set. I did have to use some foul language, but that was all during shooting, neither before nor after. And finally, HBO made it compulsory for me to attend therapy sessions before and even during the filming to make sure I don't suffer some kind of trauma from exposure to such content."

I took a deep breath in and continued in a slow tone, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"No, no. I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have judged." He said apologetically.

"It's fine," I waved him off, "Most people would have a similar reaction."

"Anyways," Mr. Tanner changed the topic, "When do you have to get home?"

"At 4. My mom will come pick me up today." I answered honestly.

"That gives you," Mr. Tanner checked his wristwatch, "20 minutes before she would come."

I grunted noncommittally. I don't think he had any bad intentions, but his words were coming on too strong to me.

"Troy, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I really think you would waste a lot of talent if you don't pursue music professionally."

I sighed audibly. This man doesn't know when to give up.

"Listen," he continued, "before becoming a teacher, I used to work on Broadway."

I looked at him doubtfully. Why would a Broadway actor become a school teacher?

"It's true!" He insisted seeing my skeptical face. "In my most famous role, I played Marius in Les Misérables. Hear this: My name is Paul Tanner, I used to be a stage performer. Not anymore… I am an educator now, teaching kids singing and instruments.:"

He sang the whole sequence with varying pitches from low to high and everywhere in between. That was really good. But I was still doubtful.

"That was very good Mr. Tanner," Tanner beamed at the praise, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you stop doing plays and such. Your voice is very good. For that matter, why aren't you the Drama teacher?"

Tanner rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well, I have a degree in music from the University of Colorado, so I am qualified for the job. As for your other question, I have a medical condition where I cannot sing for prolonged periods or I may lose my voice completely. I had to leave behind theater and singing."

His voice was blank of any emotions as he said that. That must've been painful for him. Dedicating everything to a goal, only to find the goal snatched away from you because of something out of your control.

"But I'm happy now. I have a fulfilling job and a great family," He said immediately when he saw that I was about to apologize for his failed career, "Now I teach kids. Not just here, but I have a private facility where I mostly coach people with their vocals who want to pursue pop singing or musical theater. Today is my day off from my other job or you wouldn't even find me here."

"Do you give private lessons to kids my age as well?"

He looked startled for a moment but quickly composed himself, "I do on weekends. My regular after-school classes are on weekdays, with Wednesdays off. On weekends I take up private sessions or remedial classes if someone misses something important because of some other commitment."

"Do you have a weekend slot empty?" I asked hopefully. When he gave me a questioning look I explained, "My current music teacher is good at teaching instruments but her vocal training is not so good, to be honest. And I would love to know about musical theater singing."

He eyed me carefully, "Shouldn't you ask your parents first?"

I shrugged, "They let me do pretty much anything as long as it is reasonable. I'm already taking music classes, all I have to do is change my coach. It shouldn't be much of an issue."

At this point, I was waiting for him to point out how un-kid-like I behaved, thankfully he didn't.

"I have slots available between 10 and 12, Saturday and Sunday mornings. If you have the time you can call me and I'll see what I can do," Mr. Tanner's voice hardened at this point. "But let me tell you beforehand that I am very strict with my training. Come along only if you are ready to do this with your maximum effort."

"As long you keep it in mind, that I'm doing this just to keep my vocals sharp, and maybe learn a thing or two about musical theater, not to join some boy band," I joked.

Mr. Tanner snorted before nodding to my request in acceptance.

"Give me a card or something and I'll have my parents contact you with the details."