Lost Fools Who Dream of Stars

4

Paco heads directly to the empty area of McDonald's reserved for kiddie parties. He settles into a chair and places his backpack on the seat beside him. Grabbing some loose tissue from the side pocket of his bag, he wipes the table clean before setting down his laptop. Meanwhile, Sheena heads to the counter to order fries, while Bogs and Chubi sit across from Paco, who by then is busy typing something on his laptop.

It's only when Sheena returns with the fries that Paco looks up. He raises an eyebrow. "Just the four of us?" he asks.

"Junemarie has to leave early," Sheena explains while spilling the fries on the tray.

"So? What do you want to talk about?" Bogs asks, before taking a couple of fries and munching them.

"The project. What else?" Paco rolls his eyes.

"What about it? Junemarie says she'll talk to her Uncle to connect us with the forest rangers," Bogs responds before taking another handful of fries. "Once we have the go-signal, we can start planning the story of our short."

Paco narrows his eyes to Bogs, "What story?"

Now, it's Sheena's turn to give Paco a look, "The one we're discussing earlier. You know, making a short doc along with a short film." She crosses her arm and mutters under her breath, "Guess you weren't listening, huh?"

"I was listening," Paco responds firmly while looking straight at her. "I didn't hear any story in your discussion."

Bogs sucks in his breath, "If you were listening, then you should have said something."

"Well, aren't I saying something now?" Paco shoots back.

Bogs leans forward, his eyes burning with fury, "You fu–"

"So uhm, Paco! Your thoughts?!" Chubi hurriedly asks. Both guys look at him. He scratches his head. "I mean, we're here to talk about the project, right?"

Paco sits back in his chair, his body relaxing. "I already have a concept," Paco declares, his eyes steadily looking at the rest of them. "It's a music video following a single character. We'll do it in a continuous shot, following his hero's journey. We'll use Kailan by Bamboo. My friend has recorded an acoustic version so we can use that. I already planned the seq-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Bogs cuts Paco. "When did you have this idea?"

"I thought about it for a while now." Paco shrugs. "Anyway-"

"You do realize that this is a group activity, right?" Sheena asks.

"I know," Paco says before turning the laptop screen towards them. "That's why I cut out the work for you by tackling the script and the shotlist. I'll also be editor and—"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Bogs snaps.

Paco tilts his head, ""You provide assistance on the shoot. You can be my assistant. I don't mind."

"What?!" Bogs slams his hand on the table.

"I plan to squeeze everything in a single day. I think we can do the shoot next Saturday," Paco ignores Bogs's outburst and moves his gaze to Sheena who's giving him an incredulous look, and Chubi who's earnestly writing notes in his org notebook.

Chubi's mind wanders to his schedule next Saturday. So far, he doesn't have anything planned, unless a teacher gives them something to work on the weekends. He glances at Paco who keeps on talking about the logistics of the shoot like everything is already set in stone. If things go according to Paco's plan, this will be the first time Chubi joins a BCMO production that isn't cutting close to the deadline. Chubi feels a sense of relief washing over him. Maybe this year, he won't get to be in the chopping block of the org. All he needs to do is follow someone as capable as Paco. Maybe his skills and bravado might rub on him, things he needs to make his presence felt in the org.

Bogs pinches the bridge of his nose, "You're talking as if everything is a done deal, when you don't even have a story yourself!"

Paco scoffs, "Have you ever heard of Bamboo's Kailan?"

"Yeah and...?"

"Well, try listening to it with understanding so you'll know what it's about," Paco says while returning his attention to his laptop. Not a moment later, the electrifying intro of Bamboo's Kailan begins playing from Paco's laptop. "Just imagine the imagery of a self-absorbed person getting a rude awakening, forcing him to look around at what's happening around him."

Bogs scoffs and asks, "And the social issue you're addressing in your MV is...?

"What else but social apathy? Because of people's inaction, social problems just keep rising up, not only in the Philippines but in the rest of the world, as well."

"And you want to shoot this next Saturday...?" Sheena asks.

"Yes. We can work on the other details like casting, location, props within the week," Paco replies as if he's not getting what the problem is.

"Hmm..." Sheena straightens in her seat so she's more or less looking at Paco at eye level, " In case you have forgotten, we are students. Our duty first and foremost is to study, not to shoot some short film." Sheena pauses to let her words sink in before continuing, "One week is simply too short for pre-production."

"Not to mention," Bogs says while squaring off to Paco, "we haven't agreed with your idea yet."

Deep lines etch on Paco's forehead.

Bogs continues to explain, "Let me remind you, we have one month to do this. That's plenty enough time for a five minute short."

Sheena nods in agreement, "And you may not know this since you're new to the org, but we need to inform the core staff of our progress and get their approval before we can even begin to shoot. We may need permits and request letter that needs the core staff's signature."

"We can get away with shooting without a permit," Paco says. "I've done it before. Guerilla shooting."

"You may be used to it," Bogs states, his voice steadfast, "but that's not how BCMO works. We carry the name of the org in every production and we cannot put BCMO's reputation at risk."

Bogs and Sheena square a look at Paco, neither of them showing signs of backing down. Chubi can't help but see Bogs and Sheena in a new, favorable light. He doesn't particularly take notice of them before because they were not as remarkable as the core staff members but they clearly know what BCMO stands for. Yes, the member screening may be brutal and the way they do things might be exhausting but that was because they put a premium on excellence. That was why even if the org was relatively new, being only 4 years old since its founding, the org proves to be one of the premiere student-led organizations in their University. Chubi is once again reminded of his dream to graduate as a member of BCMO and become its alumni in the future.

"Tsk, whatever," Paco looks away in disdain and closes his laptop shut. Bogs and Sheena look at each other in relief.

"Let's sleep on the idea for now. The docu slash short film about illegal logging and Paco's music video idea," Sheena says as she starts clearing the table. "In the meantime, let's just talk via messenger. I'll make a gc," She takes out her phone, then turns to Paco. "What's your name in FB so I could add you."

"It's Paco Coronel," he replies while putting his laptop back in his backpack.

"Done," Sheena announces. "I sent the 2 concepts in our group chat so Junemarie could see it as well."

Bogs stands up. "Let's use this week to finalize the idea for the short. Once everyone agrees, we'll start on pre-production. Each of us will have a role," he says, giving Paco a pointed look before striding away.

"Yeah, let's keep each other updated," Sheena adds, waving goodbye. She picks up the empty tray and follows Bogs, leaving Paco and Chubi alone at the table.