Status: Finished
Imperfect
Designing
I knew as soon as I walked in that I would love Design. There were only three other people in the class, so everything was neat and in its place. The floor was black and grey tile, and the walls were deep purple with intricate designs.
A row of desks and computers lined one wall, facing a circular window that looked out on the grounds below. The only other piece of furniture was an antique black desk with lots of drawers and silver handles. I loved it.
The teacher was a woman with piled up grey hair and very tall heels. She smiled in welcome. “You must be Belle. I’m Trina.” “Hi.”
The three other kids already had their own projects, so she sent them off and talked with me. “What are you interested in designing? Can you organize events, too?” “I’m very organized, and I think I want to do concerts.”
It wasn’t something I had ever thought of until Aven told me about his band. I liked the idea of organizing a concert, which would be a challenge, but a fun one. I could have control over a huge arena, maybe get to listen to music, do the lights and band type and stage.
Trina grinned at me like I’d done something really impressive. “That’s great! I’ll go set you up with our program.” She led me over to one of the computers, turned it on, and set up the design program.
Basically, you chose what you want to design, which can be any sort of venue. Then it would say how much money I have to spend, and whether you get to chose the colors and such. It sent me on the internet to pick up what I wanted, or I could draw them.
I fucking loved it. I chose concert, and what kind of band I wanted. It gave me a list of bands from different genres, and I decided on heavy rock. It seemed like what Aven would sing.
The program told me to plan a concert for Greeley Estates, and gave me 60,000 dollars to spend. I’d drawn up a list of materials and was a third of the way through the project when I realized someone was behind me.
I turned to see a man, peering over my shoulder at the screen. He was tall and wearing a crisp suit. I wouldn’t have been able to pick his face out in a crowd, but he had long, graying black hair pulled into a ponytail that distinguished him.
“I like what you’re doing there.” “Thank you, sir.” “You could try dark waves in the background, maybe pull a couple seats out for the mosh pit. Your lighting is almost perfect.”
I tried what he said, and he was right. It did make it better. “I’m James, or Mr. James. I run a bit of a design company. You ever need a job, come to me. I’ll hire you on the spot.”
His long fingers reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, which he then handed to me. “You have a nice day.” He nodded at all of us and left as silently as he’d come.
I still held the card. It was made of a thick black paper with white swirls on the sides. The writing was also white, and official looking script with small decorations. It read,
Off
Expert, discreet, and affordable, we serve your unique design needs
There was an address and phone number underneath. On the back there was just a name, scrawled in silver, ‘Mr. James Bohanan’ and his number. Trina came over and peeked at the card.
“You must have impressed him. He rarely gives his personal number.” “Uh, what does ‘unique design’ mean?” All I could picture was sex dungeons and murder rooms.
Did his personal number mean he wanted me in a sex way? Trina saw my face and laughed. “Oh, no, it’s nothing bad. His company specializes in designing mansions, really important parties, concerts, special events like that. Anything that calls for odd requests. That’s all he means by unique. James is quite admired in the design world.”
“Why was he here then?” I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be in a place filled with messed up kids. “Oh, James was in here a long time ago. It’s what started his career. He visits sometimes.” “Huh.”
The bell shrilled and I left, but I kept looking at the card in my hands, turning it over and over until I memorized every word. Someone had noticed me, someone important, they had thought I was good enough to hire.
Maybe I wasn’t so useless after all. I felt a smile come to my face.
A row of desks and computers lined one wall, facing a circular window that looked out on the grounds below. The only other piece of furniture was an antique black desk with lots of drawers and silver handles. I loved it.
The teacher was a woman with piled up grey hair and very tall heels. She smiled in welcome. “You must be Belle. I’m Trina.” “Hi.”
The three other kids already had their own projects, so she sent them off and talked with me. “What are you interested in designing? Can you organize events, too?” “I’m very organized, and I think I want to do concerts.”
It wasn’t something I had ever thought of until Aven told me about his band. I liked the idea of organizing a concert, which would be a challenge, but a fun one. I could have control over a huge arena, maybe get to listen to music, do the lights and band type and stage.
Trina grinned at me like I’d done something really impressive. “That’s great! I’ll go set you up with our program.” She led me over to one of the computers, turned it on, and set up the design program.
Basically, you chose what you want to design, which can be any sort of venue. Then it would say how much money I have to spend, and whether you get to chose the colors and such. It sent me on the internet to pick up what I wanted, or I could draw them.
I fucking loved it. I chose concert, and what kind of band I wanted. It gave me a list of bands from different genres, and I decided on heavy rock. It seemed like what Aven would sing.
The program told me to plan a concert for Greeley Estates, and gave me 60,000 dollars to spend. I’d drawn up a list of materials and was a third of the way through the project when I realized someone was behind me.
I turned to see a man, peering over my shoulder at the screen. He was tall and wearing a crisp suit. I wouldn’t have been able to pick his face out in a crowd, but he had long, graying black hair pulled into a ponytail that distinguished him.
“I like what you’re doing there.” “Thank you, sir.” “You could try dark waves in the background, maybe pull a couple seats out for the mosh pit. Your lighting is almost perfect.”
I tried what he said, and he was right. It did make it better. “I’m James, or Mr. James. I run a bit of a design company. You ever need a job, come to me. I’ll hire you on the spot.”
His long fingers reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, which he then handed to me. “You have a nice day.” He nodded at all of us and left as silently as he’d come.
I still held the card. It was made of a thick black paper with white swirls on the sides. The writing was also white, and official looking script with small decorations. It read,
Off
Expert, discreet, and affordable, we serve your unique design needs
There was an address and phone number underneath. On the back there was just a name, scrawled in silver, ‘Mr. James Bohanan’ and his number. Trina came over and peeked at the card.
“You must have impressed him. He rarely gives his personal number.” “Uh, what does ‘unique design’ mean?” All I could picture was sex dungeons and murder rooms.
Did his personal number mean he wanted me in a sex way? Trina saw my face and laughed. “Oh, no, it’s nothing bad. His company specializes in designing mansions, really important parties, concerts, special events like that. Anything that calls for odd requests. That’s all he means by unique. James is quite admired in the design world.”
“Why was he here then?” I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be in a place filled with messed up kids. “Oh, James was in here a long time ago. It’s what started his career. He visits sometimes.” “Huh.”
The bell shrilled and I left, but I kept looking at the card in my hands, turning it over and over until I memorized every word. Someone had noticed me, someone important, they had thought I was good enough to hire.
Maybe I wasn’t so useless after all. I felt a smile come to my face.