Make the Fireflies Dance by Rachel Bateman

Author:Rachel Bateman [Bateman, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2023-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

chapter Twenty

SPOILER ALERT: THIS IS NOT GOING PERFECTLY. WE’VE been shooting for almost two hours, and we’re going to lose our light before we get this shot.

“Cut!” I yell for what feels like the thousandth time, and everyone deflates with a collective sigh. Kenyon turns to me from behind his camera and raises an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong now?” His voice is casual enough, but I know he—and everyone else—wants to move on from this scene already.

“It doesn’t feel natural,” I say. “Ezra, you need to relax some.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted on filming the big climax and resolution on the first day. With more time together, Ezra and Kira might have more natural chemistry, and this scene wouldn’t feel so forced. But today is the only day I was guaranteed access to the gardens, and it is the perfect location for this scene. We need to take advantage of it while we have the chance.

“Um, okay?” he says.

Kira huffs in annoyance. “Look,” she says, “we’ve been at this forever, and it’s not getting better.” She turns to Ezra and adds, “No offense,” then swivels to face me. “I’m taking a break. You’re the director. Direct him.”

She breezes past me and Kenyon and wanders down by the water, pulling her phone out and tapping at the screen as she walks.

Everyone stares at me, waiting for direction, and I’m frozen to the spot. Kira is right. As the director, it’s my job to get the best performance I can out of my actors. I need to fix this.

“Ezra, let’s go for a walk. The rest of you, um, work on relighting the scene. We’re going to get this done as soon as we’re back.”

Ezra’s face flushes, and he rushes to my side. “I’m so sorry, Quin.”

“Come on.”

We walk in the opposite direction from Kira. We dip down a hill and out of view from the rest of the crew. I stop behind some trees and look around to make sure we’re alone.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Ezra shuffles his feet in the dirt and shrugs. “I’m no actor. You know that.”

“You were brilliant at auditions, though.”

“That was different.” He looks at me finally, his face open. Earnest in that way he’s always been. “There was no pressure then. I was doing you a favor. But now? People are going to watch this.”

I take his hand in mine, the easy way we used to do as kids, and squeeze. “You’re still doing me a favor. Forget about what’s going to come when we’re done. Pretend this is another movie only our parents will ever see.”

He’s nodding at my words. Because he believes me, or because he’s trying to convince himself, I don’t know.

“Think you can do that?”

“That’s not all,” he says, and I wait for him to continue. “I guess I didn’t think through how hard the, uh, kissing part would be.”

I almost laugh until I realize he’s being completely serious. “Ezra,” I say, “have you never kissed a girl?”

He stares at me, and for some reason, my cheeks flood with heat.

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