Chapter 33 Reubyn
Reubyn
Reubyn gently moves Faith a half-step to the side so he can check the shot from the second camera.
It looks brilliant, with their small campfire dominating one side of the frame and filling the night air around it with an orange glow.
Without the firelight, it’s pitch-dark, and the crackle and spark produced by the flames only add to the atmosphere.
Even with the shelter of the surrounding forest, the wind is picking up, blowing smoke into the trees.
Reubyn’s already done a soundcheck, and the wireless microphone clipped to his shirt seems to be coping with the elements, especially when he sits with his back to the wind.
All should be well, he thinks. But something is nagging at him.
He can’t put his finger on what it is. Reubyn dismisses it; he’s just freaking out because of the importance of the scene.
Earlier, he and Faith got some great footage of him exploring the trails in the twilight, but this bit is key – he plans to use it to open the second video of what he now hopes will be a two-parter.
‘Faith, can you move those plates, please,’ Reubyn says. Their barbecued dinner was tasty enough, but the remaining smears don’t do anything for the shot. He takes one last look at the framing. ‘Okay, I think we’re good to go.’
Reubyn sits back down, sets his phone to video mode and takes a deep breath.
Around the campfire, everyone has gone silent, watching him with interest. It’s awful having an audience for a piece to camera, but he has no choice – the firelight is too good not to use.
‘All right, here we go,’ he says. ‘Everybody be quiet.’
Reubyn raises his camera stick and clears his throat.
His normal ‘show voice’ is brash and loud, but for this he’s going for something different, subdued.
‘Hi guys,’ he says, almost in a whisper.
‘I’m not going to lie, I’m excited right now.
Night has fallen here in this primeval forest in deepest, darkest New Zealand—’
He stops and looks over at George, who has burst out laughing.
Reubyn glares at him. ‘What the hell?’
‘Sorry. Couldn’t help it.’ George presses his lips into a line, trying to appear serious, then his face creases up with laughter again. It’s an abrasive cackle that rips through the ambience. He shakes his head. ‘It’s just . . . primeval? I wasn’t prepared for that.’
‘Actually, you were prepared for it. I told you what I was doing.’
George shows his palms. ‘All right, all right. I’ll zip it. Silentium est aureum.’ Then to Elis: ‘That means silence is golden.’
‘Thanks for that.’ Elis stares into the fire. ‘Maybe you should consider employing that mantra yourself.’
‘Touché,’ George says. ‘Adversus solem ne loquitor. That means—’
‘Will you shut up? I am sick to death of this,’ Elis says.
Reubyn gives them a stern look. ‘Can you two calm down, please?’
Elis folds his arms. His face snarls, looking monstrous in the firelight. ‘I am calm. I just couldn’t give a toss about the meaning of his pretentious Latin phrases.’
‘Guys! If you can’t be quiet, can you please go somewhere else for five minutes so I can film this?’
Right on cue, Elis gets up and walks off, as if he’s been waiting for an opportunity to excuse himself.
It doesn’t come as a shock; George has been giving him grief all evening and it would appear he’s finally had enough.
It’s not pleasant to witness, but Reubyn can’t help but feel a guilty twinge of relief – if it weren’t for Elis being here, Reubyn would himself be bearing the brunt of George’s relentless snarking.
‘What about you, George? Do you need five minutes?’
‘I’ll be quiet, I promise,’ he says, miming a zip across his lips.
Reubyn takes a moment to recompose himself.
He raises his eyebrows at Faith, who responds with a thumbs up.
After a few deep breaths, he starts again.
‘Hi guys. I’m not going to lie, I’m excited right now.
’ This time, he goes for a dramatic pause, looking left and then right.
‘Night has fallen here in this primeval forest in deepest, darkest New Zealand, and we’re all set up with our campfire, here’ – pointing with his free hand – ‘and if we listen very carefully, we might just hear the call of one of the rarest and most bizarre creatures on Earth, the kākāpō.’ He pauses again for a moment, cups a hand to his ear.
‘Forests like these were once full of these mad, flightless, nocturnal parrots. Early explorers found they could catch them by shaking the trees, and they would fall out as easily as apples. Nowadays, there are only a handful left. So, what’s going to happen?
Will we find one? Will I come face to face with the world’s weirdest bird? Stick around and find out.’
Reubyn looks into the camera with a half-smile that he hopes conveys nervous excitement. He holds it for a few seconds, then simultaneously lowers his smile and the camera stick, and laughter breaks out around the campfire.
Jessie claps her hands. ‘Reubyn, that was so good.’
‘Thanks.’
Reubyn unclips his phone and watches the video back.
It’s good – excellent, even, for a first take.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jessie whisper something in Miles’s ear, and the two of them get up and walk off.
Reubyn stands and goes over to check the video Faith has captured.
‘This looks great,’ he tells her, as the clip nears its end.
Faith smiles. ‘Sweet. Are we done?’
‘No, we need to do another one.’
‘But you nailed it first time. That was amazing.’
Reubyn’s heart pulses with new energy. Amazing.
Her words are more warming than the fire.
He can’t help but stare at her. She beams, her full lips stretching wide with lithe elasticity.
He could just go on viewing her, the way someone might study the canvas of a master painter, observing each and every small detail.
‘Reubyn?’ She gives a small shake of her head. ‘Why do we need to do it again? What’s wrong with it?’
He blinks. ‘If you want a slick edit, you shouldn’t ever rely on one take. It might seem good now, but when you get home and look at it on your laptop, there might be a mistake, or some flaw you didn’t realise was there.’
‘Of course, that makes sense. Okay – let’s do it!’
That smile, again. Her eyes gleam with enthusiasm and flicker with firelight.
She likes him. There’s no doubt about it now.
Maybe it’s finally happening. As he moves back to his spot by the fire and sets up for the next take, Reubyn is sure – as sure as he’s ever been about anything.
At last, he’s entering a love story that might actually have a happy ending.
And one thing has become suddenly clear, like the universe is sending him a signal – it’s time for him to make his move.