“I’ve got it.”
“Jesus, Willow, are you okay?” Kane rushes to my side, helping me the rest of the way off the floor. “Zander,” he snaps at the young man standing off in the shadows. “Get some electrical tape and make sure this shit is taken care of.” He points down at the ripple that caused my spill before taking my hand.
“I’m okay,” I tell him, but he only sharpens his gaze at Zander. “Seriously, Kane.”
He finally looks away from Zander and focuses on me. “You hit the ground hard, Willow.”
“Uh, yeah. I know, seeing as I was there. Nothing is damaged but a little bit of my pride.”
“Smartass,” he mumbles under his breath, shaking his head again. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Right then.” He holds my gaze a beat longer before turning to Kirby. “Good morning, Kirby. Follow me and I’ll show you where your trailer is. I made sure that all your supplies were stocked, but if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Don’t you mean to let me know?” I ask remembering that I’m supposed to be helping him in his PA’s absence.
He looks confused for a second before he seems to remember himself. “Right, let Willow know.”
“I see you, Kane,” I tell him, seeing this as some sort of ruse to keep me close while I try.
It came to me last night as I replayed every second of our talks from the day. He clearly capitalized on the situation he found me in and wasn’t joking when he said he took matters into his own hands when he wanted something.
We walk into the makeup trailer, and I’m sure now that Kirby’s job offer was one made in genuine need. This place is a mess of chaos and destruction.
“As you know, we had a quick departure of the old makeup lead. She, uh, didn’t go quietly.”
Kirby laughs and places her things next to the wall of brightly lit mirrors. “Yeah, well, I imagine when she threw herself at the boss, rejection wasn’t something she had planned on.”
Kane laughs. “You would be right.”
“And the others?” she questions.
“Grant, your other artist, was grabbing breakfast from the catering trailer when I headed this way. I’m sure he’ll be right over when he’s done.”
Ah. Yes. The helper not mentioned when Kirby said her job needed an assistant. Assistant, my butt.
“Grant?” I question with a raise in my brow at Kane.
He coughs and at least has the decency to look a little ashamed.
“Someone call?” I hear and look over at the open doorway where a thin man pushes through carrying two plates of food.
Kane looks at me and smiles slightly before introducing Grant to us. I ignore Kirby’s chatter and continue to look at Kane. He shrugs one shoulder, and I give him a smile. I might not understand exactly what my place is here, but I’ll figure it out. It took me all night, but I know without a shadow of doubt that if I ignore what’s in front of me, then I would definitely be adding another regret to my growing pile.
Hello, adventure.
His motives might be a little foggy right now, but I meant it when I told him I would ride it out. Throw caution to the wind and get off the safe kiddie rides of life. If he doesn’t need me here, then I go back to New York with fond memories of this little jaunt of exploration.
“Ready?” Kane asks and gestures to the door.
“Yeah, I think I am.” I smile and turn to tell Kirby bye.
She walks over to me and gives me a hug, turning her head to whisper in my ear. “Don’t be mad,” she says.
I could laugh. But I don’t. So I got played to get me here, so be it. I know Kirby, and she wouldn’t have led me here if she wasn’t sure it was worth it.
“I’m not, Kirb, but later, we’re going to talk.”
She releases me from her hold and gives me a nod followed by a wink. “I have a bottle of wine with our names on it.”
“Make it two and we’ve got a date.”
I turn to Kane, and clearly, he wants to say something, but he just holds his arm out and waits for me to exit before following.
He doesn’t speak but settles his palm against the small of my back, leading me without words toward the madness set up around us. I watch people scurrying around with not a clue as to what they’re doing, and we walk around them until we settle in behind where the crew is busy setting up what I can only assume is the set where today’s shoot will be.
“Are you hungry?”
I sit when he points at one of the two chairs set up in front of a bank of monitors and settle in. “I’m okay.”
He takes the seat next to me and doesn’t question me further. A few people come up to question him about the lighting and whatnot, but I tune them out and watch the action around me. I’m clueless as to what each of these monitors mean, but given they each display a different angle of the classroom in front of us, it doesn’t take much to figure things out. Kane continues to talk to a few people, directing them to change some of the angles.
“What do you need me to do?” I ask when the last person walks away.
“Have you heard about this movie?” he asks, not answering my question.
“Impenetrable. That’s the title and about as much as I know.”
He smiles, his dimple winking deeply in his cheek. “It’s been my pet project for years. An idea I had a few years ago when the bullying stories seemed to be the highlight of every news channel. I wanted to paint light on it with a different take.”
“Meaning?”
“It seemed to me everything we had heard about led us in one direction, which was obviously the negative. Nothing showed us what it was like for someone to go through such a terrible situation, and instead of drowning, they overcome and become someone better. They take the hate, the viciousness around them, and become, well … impenetrable to the harm others wish to cause.”
“So what you’re saying is instead of the bullied being influenced by those doing the bullying, they are closed off from their influence?”
He studies me. “Yes and no.”
“Well, that clears it up.” I laugh.
“Yes, they are influenced by it, at first, but the point is to show the audience that instead of tainting their future negatively, they thrive and become a better person because of it. I want to give hope to those who need to know life isn’t what others want for you, but what you want for yourself. Strength in the face of weakness.”