Blooper Reel
Lilith: “Violet, you’re in the back of the van. You’re tied up, terrified. The two goons are in front. Michel is driving, but you don’t know it yet. It’s tense and gritty. Go.”
Violet: “The rope itches.”
Michel: *Mocking in a high-pitched voice, “The rope itches."
Michel: “OUCH!”
Skye: “Continue.”
Violet: I’m slumped in the back, my wrists bound behind me with what feels like very scratchy, very cheap nylon rope. My eyes burn, my throat is on fire, and I’m trembling.
Bland Goon Number One turns to leer at me. “Quiet back there, songbird.”
I whimper as the van hits a pothole, rolling me onto my side. As I do, the poorly tied knot at my wrists finally gives up and slithers off my hands, pooling in my lap.
We all freeze.
I stare at my hands, as does Bland Goon Number One. Michel glances in the rearview mirror.
A beat of pure, dead silence hangs in the van.
Then, without a word, Michel takes one hand off the wheel. In a motion so fast it’s just a blur, he reaches across the cabin.
THWACK!
“Ow! What the hell, man?” Bland Goon Number One is clutching his skull, and I’m trying to keep my mouth from exploding in laughter.
“You had one job,” Michel snaps. “One job. It was the knot.”
“It was a single-column tie,” Goon says.
“Not a good one,” a voice whispers from off the set.
“Not now, Skye,” I hear Lilith hiss back.
This whole take is fucked.
“Tie yourself back up,” Michel instructs.
I blink. “What?”
“You heard him, princess,” Goon grumbles, still rubbing his head. “Grab the rope and get yourself trussed up again. And make it sexy, huh? Give us a show.”
He wiggles his eyebrows. Behind the fake warehouse flat, a new voice cuts through the air.
Skye: “Say that again, I dare you.”
Everyone in the van flinches. Goon pales, and I see Skye’s shadow fall across the van door. She’s not even in the shot, but her presence creates a sudden drop in temperature.
Goon swallows hard. “I uh… I said make it… snappy. Yeah, snappy. For timing. For the scene.”
“Your next line better be ‘I need a new career.’”
Lilith: “Fucking hell. Cut! Five minutes ago, cut. No. Just no. Skye, you’re not in this scene until the warehouse. Everyone reset. Violet, just… hold the ropes and look scared. We’ll fix it in post. Probably.”