Chapter 135: Starfall Isle (2)

"Moving on," the chancellor continued. "Logistics."

He outlined the arrangements with the crisp efficiency of someone who had coordinated field trips at institutional scale for years.

The university had arranged sponsored transport, three large buses, covered under the excursion budget, which would depart from the main campus entrance at seven the following morning.

However, given that the isle’s popularity and the size of the student cohort meant the buses would reach capacity, students who had their own vehicles or could arrange independent transport were welcome to follow the convoy or navigate independently, provided they arrived within the designated window.

"The university has reserved a block of accommodation at Starfall Isle’s main resort facility," the chancellor continued. "The booked spaces cover communal areas, shared dormitory-style rooms, and access to the island’s public creative zones, the cliff-walk locations, the tidal flats, the eastern ruins complex. These are covered by the institutional booking and require no additional expense from students." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He let that settle for a moment.

"However." He folded his hands on the podium. "The island also has a number of private and semi-private facilities, the northern cove location,exclusive mountain glass bridge, the interior studio spaces, the heritage lighthouse complex. These are not included in the university’s booking. They require individual reservation and carry associated costs. I mention them not to discourage access but to ensure transparency. If you want to work in those locations, and they are, I’m told, extraordinarily compelling creative environments, you will need to arrange that independently."

A murmur moved through the hall. The northern cove and mountain glass bridge in particular was something of a legend among students who followed Star Entertainment’s production credits.

It had appeared in five of the company’s most commercially successful projects and was generally considered inaccessible to anyone without a serious production budget or significant industry connections.

"Two days," the chancellor said, returning to the practical. "The group departs this evening, returns the evening of the day after. Make good use of the time." A brief pause. "Film Arts in particular, this is the kind of environment that produces portfolios. I would encourage you to treat it accordingly."

Hearing this, Stan frowned noticing something. Maya wasn’t actually supposed to bring Stan along.

The excursion had been organized exclusively for students from the university’s Art Department, actors, film majors, dancers, directors, and media students selected for Starfall Isle’s annual entertainment-study program.

Stan belonged to none of them.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way his name should have appeared on the approval list.

But Maya was a Zimmerman.

With her family’s influence and connections inside the university board, adding one extra participant had not been particularly difficult. At least, not on paper.

The real problem was the Chancellor.

Unlike the other administrators who merely signed documents, the head Chancellor personally supervised this year’s excursion because of Star Entertainment’s involvement. Every participant list passed through his hands before approval.

Which meant he noticed Stan’s name almost immediately.

A non fitting student included in an elite Art Department excursion.

It was obviously irregular.

But after a brief silence, the Chancellor had simply closed the file and signed it anyway.

Because Stan Harrison was not an ordinary student.

Over the past week alone, Stan had quietly become something of a legend within the university. Donations, investment projects, campus development funding, entrepreneurial competitions, his influence had spread so widely that many faculty members privately referred to him as the university’s ’student tycoon.’

And more importantly...

The Chancellor was not stupid.

A young man capable of building that level of influence before graduation was someone worth building a relationship with early.

So he chose to treat this as a harmless favor.

A small gesture.

Nothing official.

Nothing spoken aloud.

Just enough for someone intelligent to notice.

And if Stan understood the implication behind the approval...

Then perhaps the university’s relationship with him could deepen even further in the future.

Anyways the Chancellor looked across the room one final time, the measured, encompassing look of someone making a silent inventory of who was in the space and whether they understood the weight of what they were being given.

"Any questions can be directed to your department coordinators. Otherwise, enjoy yourselves. And more importantly: make something worth keeping."

He stepped back from the podium.

The hall dissolved into conversation immediately, animated, excited, overlapping clusters of students already debating locations and shot compositions and accommodation arrangements.

Stan sat in his seat for a moment, looking at the stage where the chancellor had been standing, a quiet thought turning over in his mind.

’Starfall Isle.’

’A Star Entertainment property.’

’Which makes it, in the technical sense, partially mine.’ he smiled...

He glanced sideways at Maya, who was already pulling out her phone to check something.

"The northern cove and the exclusive mountain glass bridge," she said, not looking up. "I’ve always wanted to shoot there. The lighting at that location in the late afternoon is..." She paused, apparently finding what she was looking for on her screen. "Extraordinary. The way it interacts with the cliff face creates this quality that..."

"We’ll go there," Stan said simply.

Maya looked up.

"It’s not in the university booking. It requires private reservation. The cost is..."

"We’ll go there," Stan repeated.

Maya held his gaze for a moment. Then she looked back at her phone, and the smile that moved across her face was quiet and private and warm.

"Okay," she said.

Outside, the three sponsored buses were lined up along the curb like patient, oversized attendants.

Students were already flowing out of the hall in animated clusters, debating logistics and sleeping arrangements and creative plans.

Stan stood, adjusted his jacket, and followed Maya toward the exit.

Starfall Isle.

He wondered, briefly, how many of the students heading out through those doors understood that the island’s most famous creative spaces were, in part, owned by a shareholder who was going to be sleeping in the next room.

Probably none of them. And that suited him perfectly.

***

A/N:

What do you guys think please?

Let your mind go wild, interesting scenes ahead, your reply is appreciated...