After a few days of repairs at his aunt's house, Ronald went to the Richmond Savings Bank in town and paid off the mortgage of $2,000 in one lump sum.
It happened that the account manager was Ronald's neighbour, and he also extended the remaining repayment plan, allowing Aunt Karen to pay a lot less money every month.
However, the tuition for the first year at New York University is $3,300. Add to that the rent, books, and equipment rental fees that are essential for film majors, and Ronald's savings are about to shrink significantly.
The most urgent thing is to reopen a photography studio in Manhattan.
He found a real estate agent in the classified ads column of the New York Times. Ronald called and told them his needs: 1. Close to New York University. 2. There must be a big enough room for photography.
The agent came to the ferry terminal on the afternoon of the next day to pick up Ronald and took him to see three houses in one go.
The first one was a studio in Soho, a 1,200-square-foot (110-square-meter) studio with a monthly rent of $1,250.
It was a large empty room, which was quite suitable for opening a real photography studio. However, it is not suitable for both business and residence. Besides, the rent is expensive, and the monthly business pressure is not small.
The second one is a small apartment in Brooklyn, with 2 bedrooms and 1 living room. The rent is only 280 US dollars per month. Although it is a little far away, it is connected by subway, and it is only a few stops to New York University.
The agent boasted that this is a house with a sense of history, and the landlord also equipped the kitchen and bathroom with modern decoration.
Ronald thought the rent was cheap and was a little tempted. He agreed to go to the site to take a look, but he was disappointed.
It turns out that modern decoration means that gas and hot water are available, and the sense of history means that the house is very old and leaks on rainy days, leaving marks on the walls.
The third house is on the east side of New York University, at the junction of Noho and East Village, in an artist's apartment on 2nd Avenue. The house is also relatively old, but it is well maintained. It is an apartment with three rooms.
Outside the door are restaurants run by various ethnic minorities, including Jewish, Italian, Ukrainian, Japanese, and Chinese.
Across the street is a Kodak shop, and next to it is a delicatessen and a grocery store, making it very convenient. There is a Wells Fargo Bank one block away. Ronald liked the environment here at first sight.
The house was a low-rent house built by the government for the poor in the past, and now it has become a rental apartment, so it does not pay attention to reasonable layout.
The agent said that this type of house is called a train apartment, just like three train compartments, with three rooms connected front and back, without corridors and entrances. It is similar to the shotgun house in my aunt's house.
Ronald plans to use the room at the entrance as a living room and photography reception room. The second largest room in the middle is used as a photography studio. The last room is used as a bedroom and study.
After negotiating, Ronald rented this train apartment on the second floor for $500 a month. There is no elevator, but fortunately, it's only the second floor.
After chatting with the doorman, he learned that this type of house does not have separate water, electricity, and gas meters, so each resident has to share the cost. After paying the deposit and opening the phone, Ronald began to prepare to open a photography studio.
The apartment was full of artists, the kind who weren't doing too well. Of course, they weren't too bad, either; they hadn't fallen to living in Hell's Kitchen. Ronald found a Czech painter, and in exchange for taking his photo, he asked him to simply decorate his small apartment.
In particular, the portraits of Demi Moore and Nastassja Kinski were enlarged and hung on the wall of the reception room, facing the door. He also enlarged a photo of Demi Moore and pasted it behind the window on the second floor, with the words "Audition Photograph" written next to it.
Ronald was very satisfied and went to buy a typewriter and a Sony TV.
"At the 29th West Berlin Film Festival, the Soviet delegation and the delegations of the Eastern Block collectively withdrew from the film festival to protest against Michael Cimino's film "The Deer Hunter", which slandered the North Vietnamese People's Army..."
Seeing this old acquaintance on TV again, Ronald smiled at this controversy.
After typing out an advertisement for the audition photo shoot on a typewriter, Ronald went to a copy shop and made several hundred copies. He will try to distribute them around tomorrow.
He went out to the Abe Lebervoor delicatessen on the corner across the street and bought some meat. Then he went to the grocery store to buy some bread, cigarettes, and red wine. Ronald asked a Czech painter to invite some artists from the building for a housewarming party.
They were all artists, and they began to comment on the audition photos of the two girls taken by Ronald. The unanimous view was that Ronald was very good at capturing the moment when they expressed their mood, but he was not good at artistry and did not show the beauty of their bodies.
"These are audition headshots. You don't understand." Ronald laughed and scolded.
He distributed some of his advertising leaflets to the "artists" and hoped that there would be business tomorrow.
Sure enough, at noon the next day, someone came to take head shots.
The person who knocked on the door was a black-haired beautiful girl. When Ronald opened the door, he seemed to scare her.
The girl shrank back like a frightened rabbit and then used her hands to tidy up her hair. "Are you the photographer who takes the audition photos mentioned in the advertisement?"
Her eyes moved flexibly, trying to look into the room. Comparing with the flyer in her hand, she seemed not to believe that Ronald, who was so young, was a photographer.
Ronald stepped aside and opened the door wide, allowing the girl to see the reception room. Pointing to the two sample photos on the wall, he said, "I am Ronald, the photographer advertised on the flyer. This is my studio."
She watched Ronald open the door. There was nothing unusual in the room. She entered the room carefully and observed the two audition photos on the wall.
"Tea or coffee?" Ronald said, opening the kitchen door and going to get the kettle.
"Coffee is fine. Did you take both of these photos?" The girl's voice came from the reception room.
"Yes, one is the German actress Nastassja Kinski, who plays the leading role in Polanski's 'Tess'. The other is Demi Moore, who hasn't gotten a role in a movie yet, but I think it's only a matter of time."
Ronald made a cup of instant coffee and handed it to the other party while chatting. Seeing the beauty gradually relax while drinking coffee, Ronald began to ask: "Is this your first time taking audition photos, or are you going to update your headshots?"
"First time."
"Do you want to take color or black and white? For a drama or a romantic comedy?"
Ronald asked while filling out the form and handed it over: "Take a look, is this what you want? An audition photo, for a drama, in color, 20 copies. The total is $60."
The beauty took the form and looked at it carefully. Ronald had the opportunity to observe the girl's appearance.
The black shoulder-length hair was neatly combed behind the ears, revealing two silver earrings. A black velvet high-necked top set off the snow-white skin.
She was still comparing the project names and explanations one by one and seemed a little embarrassed to ask. A pair of dark eyes stared at the form as if the choice of drama or romantic comedy stumped her.
Looking at the girl's black hair and black eyes, Ronald's heart moved, and he suddenly blurted out: "Are you of asian descent?"
"How do you know?" The girl jumped up from her seat, "Who told you?"
"Relax," Ronald was startled by the beauty's action, and quickly stood up to apologize, "I just took a guess."
The girl wore a belt outside her top, and the belt buckle was inlaid with blue lapis lazuli decorations, and jeans and sneakers on her lower body. She dressed in a bohemian style, and wore cheap clothes and jewelry to show a very elegant temperament.
The girl smiled, yes, this photographer just moved in, he doesn't know his situation. So he extended his hand, "I'm Meg Tilly, nice to meet you."
"Ronald Lee" shook hands, and the two sat down again.
Meg seemed to have let go of her burden and was no longer nervous. She began to confirm the choices on the form one by one with Ronald.
Then Ronald picked up the Nikon camera and began to take audition portraits of Meg. Meg was not very skilled in front of the camera, but her figure was very good. When she stood in front of the camera, she had a sense of upward momentum.
"Are you a dancer?" Ronald asked curiously.
"Yes, I used to be a ballet dancer." Meg smiled, raised her left leg, and lightly did a standing split, and put her foot on the wall.
"Oh, this pose is not easy, I have to take a picture. I can give it to you for free."...
After returning from Kodak, Ronald handed over the large audition photo with Meg's name on it, "Pin your resume on the back and you can give it to the casting director."
Meg took the photo but didn't leave immediately. She looked at Ronald for a long time with a smile, her eyes swept to the ground, and then raised her head. "Ronald, I saw your photos of Nastassja Kinski. You seem know how to take audition photos to impress the director. Are you from the film and television industry?"
"I worked in a Hollywood crew, and now I am a freshman in the film department of New York University." Ronald felt like talking to this elegant girl. "I think you have a good physique and a photogenic face. You should have a place in Hollywood."
"Really? But I haven't entered the industry yet." Meg began to look at her feet again and smiled shyly.
"Of course, I have been a second-group director in the crew. I know who is suitable for movies." Ronald smiled, "Why don't we have lunch together, and I will slowly explain to you some of the requirements for entering the industry."
"Are you asking me out, Ronald?" Meg asked with a smile, tilting her head.
"Yes, I formally invite you, Miss Meg Tilly, to have lunch with me."
The two found a Japanese restaurant and began to chat about each other's situation.
It turns out that Meg Tilly's father is a Chinese businessman named Chen. Her mother divorced her biological father when she was three years old and took her and her sister to Canada.
Canada, like America, has a vague discrimination against asians, and there are fewer opportunities. So, Meg has always kept the secret that she is half Chinese. She was shocked when Ronald asked her.
She studied ballet since she was a child, and then received a full scholarship at Skidmore College, a famous private dance school in New York. She studied under the former top star of the New York City Ballet, Melissa Hayden.
Last year, she was accepted by the Connecticut Ballet and should have embarked on the path of a professional ballet dancer. Unfortunately, during a training session before going to the Connecticut Ballet, she accidentally fell while being lifted by her male partner, and her back was seriously injured, so she could no longer pursue a dancing career.
The resilience in her character supported Meg to continue to stay in New York and wanted to switch to a performing arts career, but she was unable to enter the door, whether it was film, television, or Broadway.
If she doesn't get a new job and with her savings in red, Meg may have to move to the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan to rent an apartment next month and work as a waitress while pursuing her dream.
The two of them became comfortable with each other as they talked. Meg confided all her difficulties to Ronald.
"I heard that all the actresses under 30 in New York are going crazy now. MGM is going to invest in a youth movie with 10 starring opportunities. All the agents are promoting their young actors to the casting studio," said Meg Tilly.
"Where's your agent?" Ronald thought to himself. This was the second time he had heard of this casting studio.
"I haven't got my Screen Actors Guild card yet, so I don't have an agent," Meg said timidly.
"It's okay," Ronald held Meg's hand to comfort her. "I'm going to the casting studio tomorrow. You can come with me if there's a chance I will recommend you."
He really didn't think this was possible, but he wanted to show off in front of this beautiful girl.