Low-Tar

A story written for my story-telling class. Couldnt have done it without inspirations from movies,credited to "Save the last dance". Anyways, Low-Tar will be long. So, get comfy. haha.

Low-Tar
“If u cant look good, at least look sincere.”


Dad: “Want some pizza ? We’ve got erm.. seafood, chicken and … “
Me: (butting in) “I’m not hungry.”
Dad: “But you haven’t had anything since lunch.”
Me: I’m really not hungry.

There was a moment of silence.

Dad: “Well.. fine, since you already planned to starve yourself….”
Me : “ITS NOT A PLAN. “I answered in a louder tone. “ I had a big lunch…. And moreover , I wouldn’t starve myself, even if Mom’s no longer around. “
Dad: “ I just want to care for you.. why you being so…..”
“Oh only now that when Mom’s gone and I’m old enough, you’re telling me you care?” I argued.

With that, I sauntered back into my room and shut the door behind . I never meant to speak those words. My mind’s all in a whirl. I love Dad, and I know he loves me too. I’m just not prepared. Every part of my life seems to be turning upside down all of a sudden. The wooden photo frame is sitting nicely on my dressing table. My heart felt the pinch again as I looked absorbedly at the picture. “ I miss you, Mom. I miss you so much”

Mom and Dad have been divorced since I was 2 years old. I grew up in a small town in Chicago, together with Mom since then. Mom never speaks much about Dad, though I can fully comprehend that Mom have always loved Dad a lot , despite him abandoning us to further his career in East LA, Compton. To me, that was nothing more than selfish.

“ Hey Mom! Look” I was effin ecstatic when I received a letter from Chicago’s University one morning. It has always been my dream to do advertising. Mom was elated and it was definitely rewarding when I saw how pleased she looked.

“ There you go, honey.” Mom said, as she put a L shaped pendant necklace around my neck.
“L’s for Love, Honey. “ she beamed.
“ Not luck. Cuz I know you don’t need luck. “

Those were the fondest memories of my life. I still wear the necklace around my neck everyday . It was the only thing that made me feel closer to Mom. Tears began filling up my eyes as I caressed at the necklace.
.
2 years in Compton. 2 years flew by just like that. It seems like only yesterday when I’ve scarcely alighted from that train. Dad has been slogging his guts out at the gas store to keep us going. It wasn’t anything luxurious, but we were happy. I’ve also slowly accepted dad. Im sure Mom would be happy if she knows about it. I gradually got used to living in this notorious hood. A ghetto hood where combat photographers would fear to thread, Police rarely go and residents cower in fear as squads of brutal teenagers run the neighbourhood drug trade. Only a sucker wouldn’t have turned to crime.

And, nonetheless, I sucked. And I’m so glad I did, if not I wouldn’t be in this office now.

TO: ALL DGK EMPLOYEES
FROM: CHAD MUSKA
SUBJECT: NEW PROJECT

Please join us in welcoming Ruff-Ryders corporation to our emergent roll of blue-chip clientele. Ruff-Ryders is eminent as a ground-breaking leader in consumer package goods and community outreach. We are excited to be part of the advertising team that will spearhead Ruff-Ryders vision of excellence and leadership into the macro dome.

I’m reading this e-mail and at the same time, trying to hang my winged pig on the wall of my office cubicle at the same time. I tried to clutch the pig in position, which isn’t exactly easy because the hook keeps giving way. “Argh!” I grunted. I took a crack at reaching the mouse with my foot.
Click.
Craned my neck slightly to read.

TO: ALL SUMMER INTERNS
FROM: RICK RODRIGUEZ, ASSISTANT PERSONNEL DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: WELCOME ON YOUR FIRST DAY!

We at DGK warmly welcome you and definitely hope that your summer here with us will be stirring, personally satisfying and of course educational. We will do everything to tap your gift and nurture you in this electrifying and innovative milieu. As our CEO, Chad Muska has said, Life is not a coincidence. It is a reflection of you. We got to be committed to ourselves, or we have no business doing business. Attached on this mail, you will see that we have sketched up a schedule for your exciting first day :)

I hate smiley faces .Only in mails like this. They deny the pain of humanity and reduce us to bald, grinning morons.
“Yes!” The pig is hung.

I hit on REPLY. And type , Thank you. This is so exciting… Samantha Forando.
“Knock Knock!” spoke a familiar voice. That’s when Jared comes in.
“Hey Sam. Now , that’s really my pig, too , ya know!”
“Spare me, Jared.”

Jared is my ex boyfriend with whom I parted amicably, even though he remains brick thick as to why we broke up. We both landed intern jobs here.

“I found that pig, Sam. I paid for part of it.”
“I gave you the money, J. You have yet to pay me back.”
“But I plan to someday..”
“And when might that be huh.”
He stared at the flying pig. And we both know the truth.

I glanced at that same photo frame, which is now positioned perfectly on my cubicle, then turned my attention to the necklace Mom gave me. During the last year of her life, when mom looked frail and limp, she told me something which Ill never forget.

“If you cant look good, at least look sincere.”

Mom has constantly taught me to stay true to myself, no matter what. And I uphold that.

Rrrrnnngggg.
Jared checks his watch. “ Aight. I have to go, sweetheart.”
I shot him an indifferent stare. Sweetheart.
He checks my schedule too. “And you have to go.” He said cheekily.
Jared has deep control issues, and a forgettery, which is why he needs to set an alarm for important meetings he wouldn’t want to miss.

[ In the Blue Room, of DGK advertising]

One by one, I see people strutting in. As always, I'm the earliest bird.
"Hi,Samantha!" Melissa greeted, as she gaited into the room in her usual bouncy steps. I smiled and greeted in response. She was probably one of the most blasé creative director I would ever come across. I sipped my lemonade as we waited uncomplainingly. Finally, after 20 minutes, everyone who ought to be present were present. Veronica Sage, and Nick Cohen, copywriters; and me, a lowly summer intern of zero influence. I sat in my chair, heart thumping, watching Melissa flipped through the pages of a file. I have a strong gut that there’s some proper work waiting for us to fire up.

"Okay. We need to revamp the campaign for Silky and Soft Shampoo." Melissa pronounced. "Freshen up the image. We’ve had the same redhead washing her hair for ages. It’s getting passe. Any thoughts….. and Sam, do feel free to jump in."

Veronica: “Bring in a blonde”
I shifted in my chair. As a brunette, I resent that.
Nick: “Blonde, young, sexy yet energetic..”

I groaned internally. That’s like any other shampoo ad.

I raised my hand earnestly. “ Why not we change the name, since its quite old-fashioned?”

Veronica: “But Soft and Silky is already known. Revolutionizing it would mean starting from zero.”

Tsk tsk.

“Oh! I got it!” I exclaimed, after some deep concentration.
Melissa: “Shoot.”
Me: “ Have this great-looking biker chick racing this guy who keeps trying to ram her, but she’s leaping over , say puddles and getting real filthy and some of the dirt gets to her hair…but it still looks decent. “
Melissa : “ Hmmm.” In an approving look.
Me: (animatedly) and we see her washing it, and it looks so fabulous. It could make the shampoo seems more….fun.”

They looked at me. And I’m not sure where all these came from.

Melissa : “I love it. A shampoo spot where a model gets her hair dirty. Hmmm.”
Nick: "We can have a series of ads where woman get their tresses dirty in many ways."
Veronica: “Uh huh! They could be painting a house and get paints splattered all over their face."
Melissa: “ Or a group of young chicks throwing cakes at each other at a party, and getting all grimy .”

It went on like this for one hour. Like playing racquetball with ideas. I have always wanted to be in advertising.

Melissa drags me aside and requested I sit in on a lunch meeting today.
Wow. “I’d love to.”
"Don’t hold back. I wanna hear your thoughts."
I nodded creatively and headed back to my cube.
And face that pig.

[Lunch break in Green Room, DGK Advertising]

Fresh mozzarella and focaccia sandwiches greeted me . Apple strudels. Chocolate chip cookies and excellent ice tea. This is heaven, I swear. Everyone helped themselves to the spread like hungry wolves.

“ You like the tea, guys.” Ronaldo Paris , our account manager asked.
We murmur yes. And continued with the spread.
“ Good!” replied Ronaldo. “ Coz we need to name the tea. It’s our new account. “

Everyone paused. I felt the flow of creative heat permeate the room.

Melissa : “ It’s a strong flavour. “
Nick : “ Forceful. Satisfying. Not for wimps.”
Another woman: “ Ice tea everyday.?”
That’s bad.
I leaned forward a little. “ Excellent Ice Tea,” I say.

Ronaldo beamed. Simple and nice. “ I like that. “
Nick: “ What’s the company’s name again?”
“Beaniger Beverages.” Ronaldo responded.

I stood up abruptly.
“We could cast for Uncle Bean ..like Colonel Sanders. Haha. “

They looked at me. I smiled back sincerely.
Mr Ronaldo chortled. My eyes twinkled.
I’ve never once balanced my checkbook.
I can’t seem to keep a boyfriend for over three months.
I wasn’t exactly girlfriend material.
But I was quick at thinking things up,this time.
And I felt like a wanderer who has found the way home.

“ Sammy…” Jared grabbed my arm.
“ Samantha or Sam.” I snapped.
“Alright Sam, I looked for you at lunch yesterday. Where were you? “
" Lunch in the Green Room" I told him. And he shot me a jealous look.
" Well.." Jared continued. I heard we got a MAJOR deal, this time. It’s your golden opportunity, Sam".
Major deal? I thought to myself.
“Do you know what the product is?”
Jared shook his head.
“ Could we be discussing it at the three o’clock meeting, J?”
Jared shrugged. “ I suppose so.”
And he went on about doing his stuff.

Rrrrnggggg.
The usual ring from J’s alarm echoed throughout the silent room.
3pm.

[ Back in the Green Room,DGK Advertising]
no food.

Just me, Melissa, Veronica , Nick. And Jared.
Jared couldn’t stop smiling teasingly at me. He has been joshing at me being the new Vice-president for the past week. And though i wished all that were true, it’s getting annoying, really.
Melissa: “ We have a new product that we need to showcase. Deep entrenchment of the name. Maybe something that says , ‘ Young and Exciting. Audacious and fearless. A little risky, but not illegal and not foolhardy dangerous. No, positively not dangerous. ‘”

Jared frowned. Veronica snorted. And Nick simply looked clueless.

“ Whats the product .” I inquired.

Melissa: “ Oh, forget about products. Now,we are just tossing concepts. “

I have absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but I just nodded concurly.

Jared: “ Youths are exciting and…. Extreme. Lets throw out extreme and leave no boundaries. How about ‘ To go where no man has gone before.’”

Melissa grimaced. That’s been done already.

Ideas continued flooding the room. I am curious what the product exactly is, and I couldn’t possibly work without even knowing what I’m working on, I’m just not bold enough…. Wait a minute.

“Bold.” I whispered in an undertone loud enough to be heard.
Bold. That’s the word. Youths want to be bold. Yes.

Me: “ We could do an ad on this group of intense and athletic youths standing on top of a mountain , all friends., being bold “
Jared: (interrupting)“ And they could be holding their hands up like they’ve won something, or people on adventure ….” (still thinking)
Veronica: “ Yup, How about people deep- sea diving. At the beach or something.
Nick: Beach! We can show young dudes with hunky toned body and young chicks with flat stomachs, white teeth and a healthy glow.
Melissa: “ Yes! That’s it. We can call it ‘The Be Bold’ Good job everyone. “

I have to admit. There is certainly a ring to it.
Melissa grabs her notes and hurries out the door. Nick and Veronica seems to be flirting on the way out, but I was too engrossed in bigger things than to bother. I am just glad I used to write my own greeting cards. Since young, Mom has trained me in Scrabbles, and I’ve always loved playing with words. I scribbled “Be Bold” on my notepad, to remind me of another achievement before walking boldly back to the cube.

I looked at my watch. 3 hours till knock off. The curiosity still lingers inside me.

What is it. I’ve never seen Melissa so secretive about products we worked on, so far.
Jared was balancing a pretzel on his not so paltry nose. He jerks his head suddenly, popped the pretzel in the air and catches it in his mouth, almost knocking over my photo frame .
Whoa!
He steadied it. He certainly knows the history. I told him about the funeral.

“ Sorry, Sam.”
I tipped my head. “ It’s okay.”

Just then, a contingent of caterers passed by holding trays of little sandwiches and cakes. There’s a meeting for some of the top execs from Ruff-Ryders corporation in our DGK boardroom. A man carrying a huge vase of fresh cut flowers followed the caterers.

We watched the parade longingly.
“ Sam , what does the Ruff-Ryders corporation do?”
“I have no idea, but I think I’ve heard the name before.” I replied.
Wait a minute. Ruff-Ryders.
I’m sure I’ve heard it before. I checked my mail.
There it is, the mail Ruff-Ryders sent me a week ago.

I sat at the computer, type in www.Ruff-Ryders corporation.com. I stared at the website.

“J. Look at this. “ I beckoned to him, who was foraging in my desk drawers for the chocolates.
“Forget the chocolate.” I said hastily.
“Never.”
I groaned. “Oh come here. You gotta see this. “
Jared came and bend down, looking at the screen. I flopped back in my chair. My throat felt dry. He clicked the mouse on "Our Products".

On the screen now, was the largely popular cigarettes manufactured by Ruff-Ryders.
Jared puts his hand on my shoulders.
My mom had died from emphysema. Left me alone , with Dad. She was close to blue and could hardly breathe on her deathbed. I felt the pinch again.

“Jeez. “Jared blurted out.
“ Do you reckoned this might be the product Mel told us earlier on.”
I frozed. I would never want to create a campaign so immoral.
Smoking kills.
And that’s a fact.

I was all confused. I can’t help but think that I might have named a cigarette.
But I don’t know that for sure.

Jared was still busy researching on Ruff-Ryders. He’s been helping me.

Jared is so great. Why did I break up with him?

A surge of memories flooding my mind.

I stood by innocently.
I should have known better.
A white chick like me dating a black hood like Jared.
Guess we both needed more time.
But I know deep down, Jared is actually a hippie at heart .

That ‘s what first made me fell in love with him.

“Sam ! Sam!”Jared nudged.
I brought my spaced out head back to earth.
“Uh… Yeah…? “

Jared handed me the stack of market research he did. I browsed through them. All the crap about how Big Tobacco plays the game, how their low- tar cigarette is going to help people, blah blah blah.

Shit happens.
But why is it always me.

That night, knowing I was feeling perplexed,Jared stayed over at my crib, It would be good to talk to somebody. Somebody close. We had a heart to heart talk. And Dad joined us too. I only had a grand total of two hours’ sleep, and my eyes has never felt this droopy .

Dad was already scrambling eggs and whipping us a big breakfast when we got up.
“Help yourself, Jared.” Dad offered.
"I’m going to confront them today." I announced.
They smiled concurly.

"For what its worth, Sam, you’re doing the right thing. " Jared kissed my hand like I’m a princess.

Knock-Knock!
“Come in.” Mel’s voice echoed from inside.
Me : “Hey Melissa.”
I tried to stay calm.
Me: “ I have to talk to you. I have the right to know the product I’m being asked to work on.”
Melissa looked up from what she was doing.
“ There’s a lot that happens in the advertising world that’s confidential.” She explained.
“Please tell me.” I insisted.

Melissa: (looking uneasy) “ Samantha, you’ve done some fine work for us. You have a quick mind and a real gift for getting a punch of the message.”
“Whats the product, Melissa.” Ignoring all that she said as I passed her the pages from Ruff-Ryders’ website.

She sighs deep.
“ It’s…… a new cigarette..very low tar..which is going to help people, Sam.”
“My mom died from emphysema, Melissa. She smoked low-tar cigarettes for years. Low-tar is a joke.”

She stood up and walked towards , touching my shoulder.
“ That’s a bit harsh, Sam”
“ Yes, her funeral was harsh. The fact that she couldn’t quit because cigarettes are addictive is harsh. That fact I’m missing her badly everyday is harsh.”

Melissa began to look impatient.

Me: "Look, I was not told I was working on a cigarette campaign. If I’ve known, I’d have refused to be part of it. I want my ideas back."

She throws her hands up.
"Fine. You can talk to Rick Rodriguez. See what he says. "

I walked back to my cube, trying to organize my thoughts. Jared was nowhere in his cube.
The only thought I have is perfectly clear.
Smoking kills.
It robbed me off my Mom.
And it’s going to harm more kids out there.
I felt so manipulated.

[In Rick Rodriguez Office]

“Hi Sam!” He greeted.

I gulped. Tried not to look around his enormous office as I sat in a soft leather chair.

Rick :” I’ve heard about your Mom. And I’m sorry.”
I didn’t reply.
“But this is reality, Sam. Everyone has got to eat. And Ruff-Ryders is a corporate giant. Paying us millions. “
“But I don’t think we should manufacture cigarettes. They are only affecting the public’s health ..and look at the ghetto kids. “ I justified.
Rick: “ Oh come on. Don’t’ be so black and white. A car can kill people too. But we still advertise them. The world is full of gray areas. “
Me:” You should have at least told me beforehand that I was working on cigarettes. “
Rick: “ Well.. we’ve never had this happens with an intern before. Interns just usually well… do what they are asked to. “

I cant believe he said these.

The next thing I knew, he handed me a seven thousand dollar cheque.

“ Here. For all the great thoughts we will fine tune on this smoking campaign.”

As a fresh graduate,I’ve never seen a cheque for seven thousand dollars before.

I handed it back. “ I cant take this.”
“Why not.?”
“Because ill be letting my mom and myself down. Mom couldn’t breathe on her final stage. She kept coughing out blood. She was in great pain.”

My heart aches when I recalled.

“She told me never to smoke. “

Rick: “ Well Sam.. I’m not asking you to smoke. I’m just asking you to do the job we asked you to do.”

I shook my head.
“Mr Rodriguez, I quit. I wouldn’t be able sleep if I took the money. I’m staying true to myself. This seven thousand dollar check is nothing compared to that. “

I got up and head out the door.
I cant believe I just did that.
I walked back to my cube, holding on to the Pig and the photo frame.
Jared walked up to me.

“ You quit , didn’t you.”
I nodded.
“Me, too.”
“You’re kidding, J.”
He shrugged.
“ So, what do we do now?”
“Hmm..be proud of what we did.?” He said.
“But we’re broke.”
“Right.”
“And unemployed.”
“Right.”
“But we’ll get better offers, right.”

He smiled.
And I hope I’m right.

“Let’s go.” He held my hand.

We walked past a group of young boys smoking Marlboro in the alley, trying to look cool.
I shouted, "Hey, keep smoking and your lungs will disintegrate and you will spit blood on the street."

We got called the four letter word several times, followed by the universal hand gestures.

Jared laughed out loud ."This certainly makes it all worthwhile, doesn’t it."

“I love you J.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “I love you too.”

We walked down the street. There is so much hype in the world still.
Though sometimes we just can’t see it because of the smoke.

The End.
( Hope u've enjoyed reading it)