Chapter 4

David
There was a lot for David to do today. Coach Farrow had called to let David know he’d pulled some strings and that David was set to move into Sandoval Hall. David had to go to USC to register for classes, and he planned to swing by the dorm and see what he might need or want to bring with him.

He’d dressed down for this. David’s clothes were casual Midwestern, making him look almost like a bum compared to the LA smart set. The addition of his baseball cap and ‘birth-control’ glasses—complete with a built-in camera, black rims, and clear lenses—reinforced his low-profile look. David’s actress friend, Halle James, would be appalled at him for allowing himself to be seen in public dressed like this, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself today.

After visiting the dorm, David planned to stop in at the baseball offices to talk to the coaches. USC’s first game was only three weeks out, and he wanted to find out what it would take to walk on as soon as possible.

Last on the agenda, David wanted to pick up his car. When he’d won his Academy Award last spring, they’d given all the nominees swag bags full of goodies that ranged from skin-care items to lavish vacations. David had either donated or given away most of the stuff. One that he ultimately wound up keeping for himself was the use of a high-end car for a year.

David had contacted Drexler Motors, and they told him he could either pick something from the lot, or they would order what he wanted. He planned to use it for his car on campus, so he didn’t want anything too over-the-top. The way his luck had been going lately, it would get banged up or stolen.

When it was time to go, David went downstairs from his apartment over the garage to meet Manaia, his security and driver for today. David saw Manaia had pulled out his Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. This was one of four prototypes that Dodge had built to test the Demon’s design. When he’d first gotten it, he’d been disappointed to discover it only had a driver’s seat and no creature comforts, including no radio. Fortunately, his dad and uncle had contracted with the dealership to trick it out.

Dodge had included all the bells and whistles performance-wise so they could test the car’s limits. That meant that it had more horsepower and beefed-up brakes compared to what ended up coming off the production line-and the production version was no slouch. The car was a beast and a joy to drive.

“Keys,” David said, holding out his hand.

“Can’t. I’m supposed to drive you,” Manaia countered.

“Either you let me drive, or I’ll make sure you’re the sole driver for the kiddy van. That means driving them to and from daycare, playdates, and the like ... forever.”

Manaia could see he was serious and just tossed David the keys. Being stuck in traffic with five two-year-olds would make anyone want to blow their brains out, especially if they weren’t yours. He wouldn’t put it past David to feed them sugar to get them amped-up before the trips, either.

David got in and adjusted the seat backward to accommodate his long legs. He fired up the engine and gave Manaia a grin as it rumbled to life.

“I haven’t gotten to drive since I went to make my movies,” David admitted.

“That’s probably another reason I should drive,” Manaia grumped.

David ignored his whining. He pulled the car from the back garage and found his mom standing in the middle of the driveway.

“Did you narc me out?” he asked.

Manaia gave him a sideways look and shook his head ‘no.’ His mom walked around to the passenger door and opened it.

“Get in the back. I’m going with you.”

David was impressed when Manaia did as he was told without a word. It seemed his mom had Manaia better trained than he did.

David didn’t even comment that his mom was going with. She would want to review his classes and see where he was going to live. There was no point in fighting it.

“We’re picking up Lexi,” Mom announced when she had her seatbelt on.

’Frick!’ David thought.

He’d been avoiding Lexi since he’d sent her home from New Zealand. If Oklahoma hadn’t had their collective head up their posterior, he would have been free of Lexi. Living in the same city might make that more of a challenge.

They caught a break on the ride to USC as they missed most of the morning rush hour. When anyone drove a car like the Demon, they’d naturally want to let it run, not be forced to endure LA’s stop-and-go traffic.

Coach Farrow walked David’s group over to admissions and got all the necessary paperwork filled out for him to be able to register for classes. David also received his student ID.

They then walked across campus to see a counselor at the Marshall Office of Undergraduate Advising to get him signed up for classes.

David wasn’t surprised when his mom took over. She had a folder with everything they needed from his high school days to show he had the necessary AP credits to skip a year’s worth of the basics like calculus.

Monday-Wednesday-Friday:
9:00 am - 10:00 am Principles of Microeconomics - 4 units
11:00 am - 12:00 pm Communication Strategy in Business - 4 units

Tuesday-Thursday:
8:00 am - 9:30 am Introduction to Financial Accounting - 3 units
10:00 am - 11:30 am Marketing Fundamentals - 4 units
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Applied Business Statistics - 4 units

By the time they left there, his head was spinning. On more than one occasion, David’s mother had changed his classes when he was in high school. She’d been behind many of the AP classes he’d taken. Why did he think, now that he was an adult and paying for college out of his own pocket, that she wouldn’t decide what he was taking? That would have been crazy talk.

On reflection, when David reviewed the schedule she’d put together, he was okay with it. Coach Farrow made a token objection that it might be a bit too much load for a typical athlete. His mother countered that they were all classes he either wanted to take or needed for his major. In the back of David’s mind, he planned to get his degree in Business Administration with a possible minor in Comedy.

Yep, they offered a minor in Comedy, but no one took him seriously, so that suggestion had died a quick death. He could figure out a minor later.

David knew he’d indulged his mother today, but it had to stop, or she would be doing stuff like this when he was fifty. Everyone was always saying that you had to pick your battles. This was one that needed to be fought.

“Mother.”

His mom surely knew what was coming.

“While I appreciate the help, I’m a grown man now and will decide my class schedule.”

His mother now had the full force of her gaze locked on David. He just stood there, did a Dawson, and went quiet. After a couple of minutes of them looking at each other, the counselor, Coach Farrow, and Lexi all started to fidget.

“What would you change?” Mom asked.

“Nothing. They’re all classes I need for my major and would have to take at some point anyway. That isn’t my point,” he said and could see his mom’s body language tighten up. “Before you explain to me why you’re taking over, let me ask you a question ... two, actually. Would you have put up with this if your mom had butted in and picked your classes in college?”

His mom’s eyes narrowed, and he could see her pinch her lips. He took that as a ‘no.’

“Did you go with Greg when he registered for college?” David asked.

He knew she hadn’t done that to his brother.

David knew why she’d done it this time. He was her youngest, and his mother wanted to hang onto him.

“I was trying to help,” she finally said.

“You did,” David conceded. “And I wasn’t always the most responsible in high school. I mean, even I knew that rock music appreciation wasn’t the best choice at the time. But I left home last May and have been on my own for a while now. It’s time you begin to cut the apron strings and let me make my own decisions.”

David and his mother were very similar when they butted heads. They tended to go at each other pretty hard. He expected her to dig in and come back at him. He was surprised when she got a thoughtful look and just nodded.

David knew enough to just shut up and take the win.

Their next stop was University Housing, where David had to get a special key card and PIN to be able to get into Sandoval Hall. They also issued a parking pass for the secure lot behind the residence hall. Coach Farrow explained that most freshmen didn’t receive parking passes because there weren’t enough spaces around campus. One of the many perks of living in Sandoval Hall was the ample room it had for both residents and staff to park.

David had met Alejandro-or Alex, as everyone called him-on spring break his senior year of high school. On his trip, David had traveled first to Monte Carlo and then to Mykonos. It was in Greece that David met Alex and his family.

Alex had a twin sister, Natalia or Nat-Alex had nicknamed her ‘Squeak.’ They were the same age as David. Alex’s father, Umberto, had family involved in the drug business in Colombia. Umberto had gone a different route and become an archeologist. That didn’t stop rivals from targeting Umberto and his wife and children as a means of gaining leverage on his extended family in the business. Umberto had almost been kidnapped shortly after David had left Mykonos to go back to the states.

The unsettling part for David was that his condo had also been broken into. The kidnappers had thought they could grab him as well, but he’d left that morning, and they’d missed him.

That was why Alex and Nat needed extra security to protect them while in college. Umberto had inherited more money than he knew what to do with, so his logical means of solving the security problem was to create a dorm for his kids to live in. Well, it might not be reasonable to the average person, but to the über-wealthy, why not?

When they first saw the building, David thought it looked like it was right out of the 1960s. The ground floor had one entrance in the front and no windows. His mom’s comment was that it didn’t meet fire safety standards.

After a security guard checked his credentials, one of the resident assistants was called to take them on a tour of the dorm.

When his mom asked about the security, the RA explained that it went beyond just checking people in. The staff had all signed nondisclosure agreements so that nothing would be ‘leaked’ about the residents living there. She said signing the NDA was worth it because RAs in this particular dorm got not only room and board paid for, but tuition as well. They also had the use of all the amenities the building offered. She explained that the waitlist to be an RA here was lengthy.

“Let’s start in the basement,” the RA announced as they went to the elevators.

When they got on, she pointed at the occupancy sign. It read ‘Maximum Occupancy 10 Persons.’

“The plural for ‘person’ is ‘people.’ You would think that over the years, someone would have noticed it and fixed it.”

“You’re an English major?” Lexi asked.

“How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Lexi deadpanned.

The basement was outfitted with a full, state-of-the-art gym that included a lap pool and a giant hot tub. There was also a laundry room. The tasteful décor upped the ambiance considerably over most gyms, and the whole area smelled of newness. David decided he liked it a lot.

“You can either do your own laundry or pay to have it done,” the RA said and then showed David where he could drop off his clothes.

“I have to take my clothes all the way down here to get them clean?” David asked, playing dumb.