“I’ll tell you what. I have a few grand in student loan money coming my way in a few days. I’m not going to use it all, so if you want it, you’re welcome to it.”
Seth sat with his cup to his lips for a moment, shocked that Randi had offered him money. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ve known you since grade seven. You’re the only one out of my group of friends I would lend money to.”
CHAPTER 12
Finally, after weeks of refined and precise planning, Seth was ready to open his business.
He walked through the doors of city hall and went to the security desk. He read the directory and took the elevator to the sixth floor. On his ride up, he was overwhelmed with pride and joy. He figured it wasn’t much, just a small home-based business, but at this point it was the only thing keeping him going.
When Seth arrived, he was given a short stack of forms to fill out. Seth completed them and handed them back to the woman behind the desk. She asked him a bunch of standard questions, and after typing up a couple of blurbs of information on the computer, she finally asked him the name of his business.
Seth didn’t have a name for his business. He thought of a few, but none resonated with him. He considered the type of business he was opening and knew it was digital and for the public. It was small and home-based, and then, like a ton of bricks, the name hit him.
Seth turned back to the woman. “Digital Studios Media House!”
The woman smiled gracefully at Seth and began typing again. After another few moments, the woman walked over to the printer and returned with a couple more forms. The woman quickly flipped the pages and pointed. Please sign here, here and here and then initial here and put your final signature here at the bottom.”
Seth signed the forms, and the last step was taking a business oath. When that was complete, Seth was the proud owner of his own business.
Since it was so close to the new year, Seth decided he would officially open on Monday, January 11, 2010. He and Randi designed flyers and business cards and then scoured the city, hanging them on every pole and community board and placing them on every window and windshield.
On the morning of January 11, Seth woke rather early, around five-thirty. He tried to go back to sleep but was just too excited. Around six he got up and hopped in the shower. After that he made his way down to the kitchen for breakfast.
And then he waited for his first customer.
Or a phone inquiry, at least.
But the slow minutes turned into hours.
Monday came and went, and before he knew it, Friday was here. No customers in the first week in business? Damn, that’s a bad omen. At that point Seth started feeling quite discouraged. He thought long and hard—maybe people didn’t just want to read about his business. Maybe they wanted to see a physical demonstration of his work.
Seth decided the best way to do this was via YouTube and Google video, which meant he had to make a movie.
After a month, Seth was still nowhere with the scriptwriting. He knew he wanted to make a comedy, but his film was lacking, well, comedy. Seth brought the funniest person he knew in on the project, Vance. What a brilliant idea that was too. Not only was Seth’s business slowly picking up, but the writing of his film went amazingly well.
Vance and Seth would lock themselves in Seth’s room with a pack of pencils and stacks of paper and just laugh for hours. What an experience, Seth thought.
Not only were he and Vance writing a film together, their friendship was growing. This experience really gave credibility to the phrase brother from another mother. Seth couldn’t remember the last time he had so much fun; hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time he laughed.
Finally, after another month, Vance and Seth had turned out the perfect script. Over the next three months, while the film was in preproduction, Seth got occasional odd jobs that were barely making him enough money to live on. By June, Seth and Vance were ready to go into production.
Over the next two weeks, Seth, Vance, Judith, a friend of Vance and Randi, turned out a comedy short that would hopefully be a crowd-pleaser; if not, he was proud of it.
One night, during an editing session, Seth took a break and surfed the Internet. He came across an article about a film festival that his city was soon hosting.
He quickly got in touch with Vance. “How’d you like to be part of a film festival?”
“Count me in. But I thought that’s why we were doing the film we just finished.”
“No, we did that film to enhance my business’s productivity. That film was the tip of the iceberg. This film, Vance, this film will be the money maker!”
“Money? I love money. Let’s do it!”
The editing of the film Seth and Vance had just completed got put on hold while they came up with another idea for this film festival. After a week, they finally had their idea, and over the next three weeks Seth locked himself in his room to write the screenplay.
Seth finally emerged with something interesting and unique. Finally he could go back to editing the film he had put aside. By August the film was ready to be uploaded to Google video and YouTube. Within an hour of its upload, it had 1,000 YouTube hits. Luckily for Seth, the film was just the right advertising tool for his business. Business increased drastically over the next year. Finally, now, Seth actually had money in his bank account.
He started feeling antsy and wanted to do something on his own again. One day, he decided to make another movie.
After doing all that business for other people, the mood struck him to do something of his own accord. He remembered the screenplay he had written a year prior and removed it from its crypt in his desk. He went up to his room and read it through. He liked it the way it was, but the only thing on his mind was where he was going to find a boy and a girl to play the parts of the children of one main character. He didn’t know any children between the ages of 10 and 12. That was, anyone beside his neighbours. But he hated his neighbours with a burning passion, like the rest of the neighbourhood did.
Seth felt like he was back at square one. With the way business had increased lately, he doubted he could spare that much time to dedicate for a total script overhaul.
He called Vance to get his opinion. “What do you say? We missed the festival, but I still want to make the film.”
“When we came up with this idea a year ago, we both agreed that the children are key to the plot. I don’t understand why you won’t just approach the kids next door. You hate them, so? Is that really a big price to pay?”
“Vance, you know because of my past situation I now suffer from high blood pressure. At the risk of sounding greedy and ignorant, I’m only thinking of my health. I really don’t feel like being trapped in a hot forest in the dead of summer with two juvenile delinquents.”
“Would it help if I asked for you?”
“Not really. I’ll still hate them.”
“Okay, then. Ask yourself, how much time can I afford to take off to dedicate to my personal project, and will I have enough time to search for children?”
Seth thought for a moment. “Fine, you’re right. We really don’t have enough time to search for children. I guess I’ll have to just suck it up and put my pride on hold. I’ll ask them tomorrow.”
The next morning Seth approached the kids next door, and they loved the idea, but their father hated it.
“No!” Bart shouted at his wife, Elisa. “Absolutely not!”
“But why not? The kids don’t have a lot of friends, and Seth is the only one in the neighbourhood who’s taken an interest in us.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. That’s why I don’t like it!” Elisa popped a cigarette in her mouth, lit it and took a long drag.
“What the hell do you mean?” Bart sighed.
“We’ve been in this neighbourhood for four goddamn years now. In all that
time, nobody welcomed us or has taken an interest. Suddenly out of the blue the kid next door takes an interest? No. He’s getting too close for comfort, and we’re going to get caught!” Elisa chuckled.
“What’s so damned funny, woman?”
“It was your decision to grow marijuana, not mine.”
“Yes! And do you know how much money we make because of it? We’re filthy rich!”
“We are, eh? Is that why you begged your mother to buy our humble abode?”
“What are you saying?”
Elisa took another long drag off her cigarette. “Nothing, forget it, okay? But you have to realize, Seth is a young man with a business of his own. He’s not trying to muscle his way into our personal lives. As a matter of fact, he probably couldn’t care less. All he’s doing is trying to make a living, so let the kids be in his movie. You’ll see, we have nothing to worry about.”
CHAPTER 13
By late July 2011 Seth, Vance, Judith, Bart Jr. and Rihanna were in production.
The film wrapped in early August. At the end of the production, Vance started thinking of how he was going to break the news to Seth about his move to Amsterdam.
After wracking his brain for weeks and coming up empty, Vance decided to call Keri for advice. “I don’t know what to do. I tried to think of a believable excuse, but they all sounded phoney.”
Keri cleared her throat. “Why, Vance? Why? Why do you have to spare his feelings at all?”
“Because we’re friends. You may hate his guts, but I love being around him.”
“Why? All you have to say is, ‘Seth, my family is moving to Amsterdam, so I’m leaving your fat, ugly ass behind.’”
There was a brief pause.
“I’m not saying that, Keri, because I’m not a cold-hearted bitch like you and your family. The last thing Seth needs right now is another shot of bad news. I mean, he’s still not completely over you yet, and that was two years ago.”
They remained silent for a moment.
“Well, I’d like to say thank you, but you did nothing for me, Keri.”
“You should’ve known better, Vance. And we’re talking about Seth. I hate him. Why would I want to help you spare his feelings when even I didn’t do that?”
“What did he ever do to you? The only thing he was ever guilty of was being in love with you.”
Keri was silent for a moment. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
“That’s right. Especially when there isn’t a story to begin with.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just admit it. Your mother hated him, so you allowed her to shove her arm up your ass and work you like a puppet, and to fill your head with false information.”
“You know? If you want to continue our relationship when you move here to Amsterdam, I’d be damn careful how you talk to me.”
“Right, sorry. I have to go. Talk to you later.”
Finally, after another week, Vance invited Seth out for a cup of coffee.
Not much was said between them that day, mostly small talk. Somewhere deep down, Seth knew the coffee was a front for a deeper issue. It was more than two friends having coffee and catching up. It was little things, cues Vance was giving off, like the way he looked at Seth, the way he acted, nervous and edgy. And the way he sounded.
There was a shakiness in Vance’s voice.
“Okay, give. What’s up? What’s on your mind?”
Vance slowly sipped his coffee. “I have a lot on my mind, actually. The only trouble is, I don’t know how you’re going to react to it.”
“Well, the best way to find out is to just tell me.”
Vance still didn’t know what he was going to say. He figured he’d know when it came out of his mouth. “I’m moving.”
“You’re moving? What’s the big—”
“To Amsterdam.”
Feelings he hadn’t felt in a long time came out of remission and stirred. “Amsterdam? Why? Why there?”
Vance could tell Seth was really hurt; he felt guilty yet glad to have finally gotten it off his chest. Vance took another long sip of coffee in hopes a believable story would pop into his head. “Because, because my parents are getting a divorce.”
Seth pondered his words. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“One day, my father woke up and just decided he didn’t want to be married anymore. My father and brother are moving to Toronto, and my mom and I are moving back to Amsterdam.”
“I’m sorry,” Seth stared at Vance over his coffee mug. Like a castle in the sand, the water took away. Vance vanished from Seth’s life.
On August 19 the film Seth and Vance had worked on with Bart jr. and Rihanna was complete. Seth made a copy for his neighbours and walked it next door.
*
That evening, the Hyssop family gathered around the TV set and watched the film. When it ended, Bart shook his head.
“What is it, honey?” Elisa asked.
“That has to be the worst film I’ve ever seen!” Bart replied.
“What, why? I thought it was good. I especially liked that twist at the end.”
“I don’t like the way our children were represented in it.”
Elisa shook her head in confusion. “How so?”
“One kid was presented as a loud mouth, fat faggot, and the other one was presented as a father-loving hussy. Almost like they were on drugs!”
“Oh, give it up, Bart. It’s only a movie.”
“I’m telling you, Seth purposely represented our kids like that to tell us he knows.”
Elisa chuckled. “You still think Seth is out to get us? Come on, Bart. If that were true, why wouldn’t he just go to the police?”
Bart thought for a moment. “Lack of proof. He needed video evidence and now he has it.”
Elisa exhaled. “Would you stop? You’re imagining things as usual. You’re being paranoid over nothing.”
“He’s getting way too close. I have to put a stop to it.”
Bart remained silent, deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to put a stop to Seth getting too close. He looked over at his children, then at the TV, and then back at his children again.
“That’s it! That’s how I’ll nail that idiot!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ll accuse Seth of child pornography.”
Elisa’s mouth dropped, absolutely stunned at what her husband was suggesting. “You’re not serious, Bart—are you?”
“Goddamned right I am. Now, my plan is super simple. I’ll pose our children in classic pornography poses and then take nude photos of them. Print the photos and collaborate a story with the kids, call the cops—and good-bye, Seth.”
*
On September 9, 2011, two police cruisers pulled up in front of the Zimmer home.
One officer from each car got out and made their way to the home. They knocked and waited patiently.
Mrs. Zimmer opened the door. “Ma’am, good afternoon. Is this the residence of one Seth Zimmer?”
“It is.” Mrs. Zimmer studied the officers for a moment. “What can I do for you?”
One replied, “Well, ma’am, you can take us to Seth; we’re here for him.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait! What do you mean you’re here for Seth? Is there a problem?”
“We have a warrant for his arrest.”
Stunned, she slowly moved back to allow the officers to enter.
“Seth!” she shouted from the bottom of the staircase. “Can you come down here for a minute?”
After a moment, Seth came down the stairs. He looked at the officers and then at his mother. “What’s going on?”
“Are you Seth Zimmer?” asked an officer.
“Yes.”
The officer handed Seth an arrest warrant. �
��Mr. Zimmer, you’re under arrest. Please place your hands behind your back.”
“What, why? What did I do?”
One of the officers removed his handcuffs from his belt and stood behind Seth. “You are under arrest for child pornography in the first degree.” The officer gently placed Seth in the handcuffs.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Seth was taken to the interrogation room for questioning. He sat at the end of a long metal-top table, a handful of nude photos of the Hyssop children in front of him.
“Mr. Zimmer, please. I’m being quite serious here. Child pornography is an extremely severe offence.”
“You don’t think I already know that? I’m not stupid!”
“I didn’t say you were, Seth. But you will be if you’re not being 100 percent truthful with us.”
Seth took a moment to recompose himself. “Look, I’m sure you hear this all the time from ‘real’ criminals, but I’m being honest. I have never seen these pictures before.”
The officer questioning Seth leaned over the table and studied Seth for a moment. After what felt like an eternity, the officer finally leaned back. “Okay. I don’t know what it is, but I’m compelled to believe you.”
“So does this mean I can go?”
“Yes—back to your holding cell.”
“What! Why?”
The officer cleared his throat. “Because, Seth, a decision has to be made first.”
“What decision?”
The officer pushed his chair out and rose. “Whether or not the Hyssops decide to formally press charges.”
Early the next afternoon, Seth woke to the sound of the door buzzer at the end of the hall. After a few seconds he could hear the door banging open. The sound of footsteps got louder and louder as they got closer to his cell.
“Mr. Zimmer, visitor.”
Seth slowly sat up and turned to see his stern-looking father standing at the bars.
“Would you like to enter the cell, sir?” asked the officer.
Mr. Zimmer took a moment. “No, no I’m fine.”
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