Matt can ask

Matt decided to give Mr. Adams a call himself rather than rely on Tanya. He didn't want Tanya to have to owe more to her father than she already did considering the kind of payback Mr. Adams required... even if he did have a replacement teenage girlfriend.

"Mr. Adams, it's Matt."

"Yeah?"

"Not sure if you heard but I got picked up by the FBI earlier today."

"You're shitting me. The F*ing FBI?"

"Yeah. Apparently a donor is putting pressure on the President and Attorney General to crack down on evil pornographers."

"There are a lot of people out there who can't be satisfied unless they're sticking their noses in other people's business."

"The thing is, I know the donor. It's Mrs. Fellers, the mother of one of our talent."

"Oh, shit. It gets personal."

"Yeah, no kidding. But my sister was telling me about this book called Ulysses by James Joyce. She said that a judge ruled that it's not porn because it's art. So I figured if I could spin our work as art, maybe--"

"Maybe she'd back off because her daughter is involved in something artistic, something that could look good on her college application rather than being a black mark, that kind of thing?"

"Exactly." Although Matt hadn't thought of the college application angle.

"It won't be easy," Mr. Adams admitted. "Not that I'm saying you're not creating art. I mean, sure you are. But you'll have to come up with a convincing story line. The thing is, most of those self-righteous types don't like contemporary art. They like art that's been dead for a century or more. So it's safe, you know. 'Cause the artists are dead so they don't talk back."

"But I've done some research on Mrs. Fellers." He didn't mention most of that research had involved some detailed phone conversations with Wendy and Daisi. "She is a major donor to the L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art."

Matt could practically hear Mr. Adams shaking his head. "Could work, maybe. The thing is, people donate money for a lot more reasons than just because they like a certain art style. Still, it's a good sign."

"So," Matt said, "I need some help explaining why our streaming service is art. I need the right words, the kind of gotcha explanation that elevates us from evil pornography into something magical and, well, art."

"Got it. I can send you some books you can pick up on Amazon. Buy them used... they're the kind of books people buy but never get around to reading. In the meantime, let's talk about camera angles..."

An hour later, Matt was sort of wishing he'd gone ahead and had Tanya make the call. His head ached with deconstructionalism, symbolism, minimalism, and a dozen other concepts that might actually make sense and be important... but that would take some serious study before he could rattle them off half-way convincingly, let alone as well as Mr. Adams.

He was heading for bed when his phone rang.

"Matt, it's Wendy. I just learned, my mom is going to a MOCA event tomorrow. If you happened to run into her there..."

"Yeah, perfect. Thanks, Wendy. You're my hero."

"Enough for a date."

"Once your mom lets you out of prison."

"Which will be never if she has any say."

"If I'm not in jail next week, we'll go out then."

"Okay. Better be convincing with my mom, then."

"Yeah, thanks. I never would have thought of that myself."

"Ha ha. See you soon. You going to school this week?"

"Still suspended as far as I know."

"Too bad. I'll sit with Amy and keep her company on the bus."

"You're a doll. Thanks."