The Adam Boy

CHAPTER 15 - NEAR NORMAN

My first texts for TV were getting ready. Despite the way I saw what others looked like when going through the Norman review, I was looking forward to seeing what my first result would be. This was an internship. The best time to make mistakes was there, even though he knew that mistakes made Norman very nervous. I also thought that, all that, his way of working, was great for experience, I knew that if I could get along and adapt to it, when I left there or promoted there, I would be well prepared for many things.

When I finally finished my first three texts, all for the website, I informed Norman. She asked me to wait for a while and to do the review later.

"Coooould it be, son? I haaaave a lot to do. Caaaan I fix it laaaater?"

Of course, I thought. What would she say if I said no? That he had to revise the texts at that very moment? This idea was better left to the imagination.

A storm was falling outside. The wall covered with glass windows on my left showed that the day had turned dark. The damned air conditioners were working at full speed. An Igloo would adapt very well in that room. The tips of my fingers were frozen.

When Norman said he could correct my texts, the blood went up to my head and I felt that I was starting to sweat even in the cold of almost 0ºC in the room.

"Wheeeere are the teeeexts?"

I showed you where to find the texts. The machines we used were all connected to a folder where they all had the same access. I didn't even have to move, I just turned my chair a little to hear it better; she remained in the same place.

My first three texts spoke of a website that contained a kind of dictionary for the communication area, the other for 3D TV and the other for mobile TV.

She started by reading the story about 3D TV, where I used to quote James Cameron's movie Avatar.

"Woooow, what a huuuuge text. You can't, soooon. A text for television, and eeeeven more that will be on a website, has to be shoooort and light. Let's go down a little biiiit, okaaaay?

"Uhum ...." was the only thing I managed to say.

When she arrived at an excerpt from the text that said "... the manufacturers LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are manufacturing [...]".

"Noooo, let's change that. It is noooot a good text for the Internet to be like thiiiis.

She continued to read. He took and tidied up less than I thought he would do.

"Your text is veeeery formal. You never spoke directly to the puuuublic. You have to talk more with whoooo is going to read your texts. You have to use more "you" in your teeeexts.

From that moment on, I never put a gerund in a journalistic text. I learned to speak directly to the audience in a text. Make your own judgment with the lines I write in this book.

She went on to the next text. This time he started reading what was said about the Communication Dictionary. In this one, it changed a lot, but I could see a stark change for the better. My text was serious and very formal. It was transformed into a light and fast text. I was very impressed with how easy it was to put a touch on the texts that, even if that touch was subtle, had great positive effects.

Corrected the next mobile TV and made some changes, but less than the previous one. He finished and asked if I had any questions. In which I said no, that I understood everything. There were many things I learned in just three corrected texts. He hoped not to forget any of his touches in the next few that he would produce.

And I wondered: what kind of woman was she who caused so much panic, but who did an impeccable job? Could it be that to do a job like hers, or even better, I should also have this attitude? Did I have to cause fear and panic to show that I do something good? Or to do something good? How much would I gain from this? How much would other people gain from that person's treatment and personality?

I was very confused. Was I evolving or regressing? Or was it that I wasn't learning anything, but because of me, that I was getting it all wrong?

When I saw tough, tough people in movies, I thought it was just fiction, but in that place I realized that it really existed.