Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 21

Knickerbocker?”
    “I’ve read about the program, and I think it suits what I want to do very well.”
    “Tell me what you want to do, beyond directing.”
    “I want to learn to work with actors and direct theater.”
    “And how do you propose to learn to work with actors?”
    “By becoming an actor myself,” Peter replied. “My role model is Elia Kazan.”
    “Ah, yes, Gadge,” she said. “That was his nickname, but he didn’t like it. I didn’t know that until I read his autobiography. Have you read it?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Peter replied. “Twice.”
    “I see. And what do you want to do after graduation from Knickerbocker?”
    “I want to go to the Yale School of Drama,” Peter replied, “for the same reasons I want to go to Knickerbocker.”
    “Peter, I’ve no doubt that you would fit in perfectly at Knickerbocker,” she said. She picked up a folder and handed it to him. “This is an application. Please fill it out and return it to me with a copy of your birth certificate and your transcript from your previous school.”
    Peter handed her the documents. “I have those right here,” he said. “May I fill out the application now?”
    She laughed again. “Yes, you go right ahead. Do you have a pen?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Peter said.
    “I’m going to give you a few minutes to complete the application, and then I’ll come back,” she said, rising.
    Peter stood with her, and she left. He opened the folder and began to fill in the blanks.
     
     
    Letitia Covington went into her study, sat down at her desk, picked up the phone and dialed the number of the headmaster of Knickerbocker Hall, who lived on the floor below her. “Arthur,” she said, “it’s Letitia.”
    “Good afternoon, Letitia. How did you know to find me at home?”
    “Because I know what a lazy old fart you are, and that you often leave school early.”
    “I come home to do paperwork,” he protested. “They won’t leave me alone if I’m at school.”
    “I want you to come up here right now,” she said.
    He laughed. “What’s up, Letitia?”
    “I have a candidate for you, sitting on my living room sofa, filling out his application, right now.”
    “Letitia, you know we have a waiting list.”
    “You’re going to forget all about that when you meet him,” she said. “Now get your ass up here!” She hung up and went back to the living room.
    Peter rose as she entered and handed her the folder.
    “Already finished?”
    “Yes, ma’am. I put my birth certificate and my transcript in the folder, along with a recommendation from the headmaster.”
    The doorbell rang, and the maid led in a man wearing a seedy cardigan and a necktie loose at the collar.
    “Peter, this is Arthur Golden, our headmaster at Knickerbocker.”
    Peter stood and offered his hand, noticing that he was taller than Golden. “How do you do, sir?”
    “Sit down, sit down,” Golden said. “I’m not accustomed to good manners from students.”
    “I’m afraid, Arthur,” Miss Covington said, “that Peter doesn’t know how to behave any other way.” She handed him the screenplay. “Read the first scene,” she said. “We’ll wait.”
    Golden sat down, put on the glasses that hung from a string around his neck, and began to read. Finally he stopped and began asking Peter all the questions Miss Covington had asked him.
    When Peter had dutifully answered them all, Golden looked at Miss Covington and nodded. “Peter, I’d like you to come to the school tomorrow morning, meet some people and have a look around. Please bring your parents, if you like.”
    “I’d like that very much, Mr. Golden,” Peter replied.
    “Don’t wear a jacket and tie,” Golden said. “You’ll frighten the other students.”

18
    P eter ran into Stone’s office, breathless. “I think I got in!” he shouted. “Miss Covington was just great, and she made the headmaster, Mr. Golden, come up to her apartment to meet me!”
    Stone helped him off with his coat and steered him to the sofa. “Sit down and take a few deep breaths,” he said, and got the boy a bottle of water from the fridge.
    Peter gave him a blow-by-blow account of his meeting. “I’m going to the school tomorrow morning. They said you and Mom could come, too!”
    “I’m available,” Stone said, “and I’m sure your mother is, too.”
    That evening they attended The Lion King , which Stone liked much better than he thought he would, and they dined at Sardi’s. Stone explained