by S. Poulos
knowing the havoc that would cause at the other end. "Is the director there? I must speak to the director please."
"Who is calling please?"
He gave his name.
"What is the purpose of your call?"
"I cannot explain it now but it is urgent."
"That is not good enough sir; you have to do better than that."
"Okay, is the CEO there?"
"You must be joking. At least go a little lower than that."
"Is the anchorman of Wednesday show there? Can you at least tell me that?"
"That I can tell you. I saw him entering the building about half an hour ago."
"Will you please tell him, if he happens to come out, to stay put, for I am bringing in the Teacher."
"Whom?"
"The Teacher." And he turned the phone off, saying loudly, "that's why I want to open up a bakery." He thought for a few seconds, and then he saw a little van behind the house.
"Who does that belong to?" he asked the organizer when he returned to the house.
"To a friend of the family," he said.
"Can he drive us to the television station?"
"I suppose so."
They asked the Teacher if he did not mind riding in the van, in order to avoid being detected by the press people stationed outside the house.
He said not at all, and off they went.
Just before they arrived in the television station, the rookie representative moved in front of the van in order to pass the security gates with no problems, as he was working there. After that, it was a breeze. The moment the doorman realized who this rookie representative was bringing in, the doors swung right open, and everyone's eyes turned to them.
The young representative felt ten feet tall, and guided his guests with an authoritative manner direct to the director's office.
When the director saw them, for a moment he thought he was seeing things.
When he was giving this rookie instruction, he was convinced that it was a futile case, and now the rookie had delivered the goods. Instead of greeting them, he collapsed on his chair, forcing the young representative to run towards him asking, "Are you all right sir?"
The director sprang to his feet saying, "Never better my boy, never better," and turning towards the Teacher he said, "It is my honor to meet you; please sit down. What can I offer you?"
"A glass of water, thank you."
The managing director sent the representative to call the show presenter, and turned to the Teacher and said, "We meant to send a limousine for you. How did you come here?"
"In the back of a small van."
"Oh yes? And who organized that?"
"The senior officer that persuaded me to come here."
"You mean..."
"Yes I do."
At that moment, the 'senior' officer walked in, accompanied by the anchorman.
"Teacher, I'd like to introduce you to the man who is going to do the interview."
The Teacher recognized the man from the show he had seen a few years back, although he was visibly older.
"I can say I am a fan of yours," he said smilingly.
"Is that so? I thought you don't watch television, according to my research."
"I seldom do, but one of these rare occasions was a work you did about Gandhi."
"That is some time ago. I am so glad you still remember it."
"Good things last for a long time."
Then suddenly the CEO appeared on the door, unable to resist his curiosity to meet this man who brought so much controversy wherever he went. Behind him came the executive officer. After the introductions, formalities and some small talk, the time for business arrived. The managing director nodded to the rookie representative to leave the room. He closed the door and said, "Gentlemen, it is time for business."
"Well Teacher," the managing director said. "We all know why we are all gathered here, so let's clear the basics first. We are happy to give you the opportunity to tell your side of the story to the most respected live international show in the world. Are you happy to participate in it?"
"It depends."
"It depends on what?"
"On what is in it for me."
"I already said we will give you the opportunity to say your bit after this flood of negative publicity against you; it is the opportunity to straighten things up. Is this not good enough for you?"
"No."
"How much do you want then?"
"You mean money?"
"Yes."
"No, I think you got me wrong. I didn't mean that."
"What then?"
"I want part of the show. Exactly, I want one third of it."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I studied the format. Correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it the show lasts one hour with about twenty minutes of commercials. Is that correct?"
"That is correct."
"Well, it leaves us with about forty minutes of clear show."
"So?"
"I want this time to divide into twenty minutes each. So if we divide it in three I actually will get one third and you get two thirds which I think it is no bad deal."
"I don't understand. You want twenty minutes of the show but at the moment it is all your show."
"No, it appears so, but if we take the twenty minutes out of the show for the commercials, what are the viewers going to get out of it? I will tell you what; forty minutes of relentless cross-examination and quibbling. I will be thrown into the Coliseum to be torn to pieces by this tiger here..." he indicated the presenter. "And what are the people going to get out of it? Nothing."
"And what do you intend to do with this twenty minutes?" asked the managing director ironically. "Make a proclamation? Present your manifesto to the world? Or what?"
"Something like that."
"That is absurd."
"Just a minute," said the presenter. "In what way are you intending to use your twenty minutes?"
"This is up to you."
"Please clarify."
"Well I will give you the material. How you are going to present it is your choice."
"And what kind of materials are these?"
"Nothing particular. Just essays sayings from my past work. I'll even let you choose them."
"How about moneywise?" asked the managing director. "Are you willing to sign it in a paper that you are not entitled to any remuneration?"
"I am willing to shake the hand and give you my word!"
The managing director excused himself from the Teacher and took the rest to another office and said, "I do not like it I cannot trust this loony. With all this idiosyncratic behavior he may let us down. What about his demand? Who the hell is he to tell us how to run the show?"
"We have to use a little diplomacy here," said the executive officer. "Don't forget an hour ago our problem was how to bring him here. If we act in haste the bird may fly and there are other trees that he may go and sit on."
The CEO spoke for the first time. "What do you think about these twenty minutes of his? Do you think it is going to create too big of a gap for the show to survive? Because I am very confident it will pick up the moment you start interviewing him."
"I am not sure when and how he wants his piece to be done. I suppose if it is at the end of the show it maybe not be too bad. Let's find out."
They all come back at the room.
The presenter apologized for their absence and then said to the Teacher, "All my life as a television presenter I never come across anyone demanding such a difficult proposition. Nevertheless, we are still willing to explore it. Can you please explain to us how you visualize this to happen?"
"I don't know if you understand what my concern is here. The moment you do, I am sure we will find the way for it. My aim is not the same as yours. My aim is to use this valuable time for something constructive and then I will play your game. I want the viewers to gain something out of it."
"When and how do you intend to use this twenty minutes?
"
"I believe your introduction lasts about one minute. That is from your twenty minutes," he said jokingly. "The moment you finish the introduction, my writings start to appear on the screen. You can embellish it. You can narrate it. You can put in background music. I leave it to you. I trust your test. The only thing I am going to do is to keep time, then I'll be all yours." "When are we going to see the writings we're supposed to broadcast?"
"You can see them now. I am sure my organizer has some with him; he always has some of them."
"Then we will do that," said the managing director. "We'll have a brake. We have a very good cafeteria here, and after you provide us with some of the material we are talking about, you and your organizer friend can have something to eat and we will analyze your writings, then we will meet in about one hour in my office again. Is that all right?"
"It is all right with me."
"Let's do it then."
The organizer gave them some material they could use and he and the Teacher went off to the cafeteria. The presenter went to his office to study the material and the rest went back to the office.
"I must say it is a hard case to crack," said the executive officer.
"I told you so," said the managing director. "He is not willing to sign papers to say he does not want to get paid. Who can assure me that he will appear that day for the interview? And this twenty minute thing he wants is unacceptable."
"I understand your concern," said the CEO, "but what is the alternative? This is our biggest coup we are trying to pull here. Do you want to send the bird to our opponents?"
"No, I want to start the action for plan B."
"And what is that?"
"Replacements in case things don't turn up."
"What do you mean? Are we not going to use trailers? And what is going to happen to the replacement if things turn out all right?"
"The trailers will go on as usual. As for the replacement, I will take