“My screenplay was originally intended for the stage, but my faculty adviser cautioned me against that.”

“Why?”

“Since the script is about two students murdering a teacher and getting away with it, I think he thought the school’s board would be reluctant to see it performed with parents present.”

That got a laugh from all three. The dean spoke up. “Since your film doesn’t have titles yet, I didn’t realize that you had acted in it, as well as directing, until I saw you this morning. Did you find that difficult?”

“Not as difficult as I had feared. I already had all the dialogue in memory, so I didn’t have to worry about that. It was mainly a matter of organizing the setups and preparing in advance so that I wouldn’t waste scene time.”

“You seem to have shot everything in existing light,” the dean said. “Why?”

“Because we had only two lights to work with. I used them, but it’s probably hard to tell where.” Peter cleared his throat. “May I ask a question?”

“Of course,” the woman said.

“How many people here have seen my film or read the screenplay?”

“Just the three of us,” she replied. “We watched it together.”

“My father is very concerned that if the film is widely seen that it might attract a lot of attention, and he doesn’t think I’m ready for that. I tend to agree with him, so may I ask that you not discuss the film with anyone else and that you return the screenplay and DVD?”

The dean answered. “I think that’s a very reasonable request, and we will give you our promise to do so, until you’re ready to have it more widely seen.”

“Thank you,” Peter replied.

“Do you have any other questions, Peter?” the woman asked.

“I don’t think so; I found answers to most of my questions before I got here.”

That got another laugh.

“Anyone else?” the woman asked her colleagues, but both men shook their heads. “I just want to mention one thing, Peter,” she said. “Do you know that we have places for only two hundred students in our program?”

“Yes, I do, and I appreciate how difficult that must make your decisions. I hope I’m accepted, but I certainly understand why I might not be.”

“Thank you for coming to see us, Peter,” she said. “We notify all our applicants at the same time, so you’ll get a letter in due course.”

Peter shook their hands and thanked them, then left the room.

When he had left, his inquisitors all chuckled.

“He’s lying, of course,” said the man who had not spoken during the interview.

“About what?” the woman asked, surprised.

“About his age,” the man replied. “He’s not eighteen; he’s at least thirty-five.”

They all had a good laugh.