eighteen Lights, Camera, Friction
eighteen
Lights, Camera, Friction
When Neil’s name flashed on my phone screen the next morning, I was tempted to let it ring out.
It would’ve served him right for going AWOL on me all day yesterday.
He’d only responded to my panicked messages after dinner, sending me one dry update: The office shoot had been hectic, but it had ultimately gone okay, and he hoped I’d managed to find a backup location option for Mussoorie. Nothing else.
But the uneasiness that something might’ve gone wrong pushed me to pick up. ‘What do you want?’
‘Um, hello to you too,’ he said, sounding taken aback and amused at the same time. ‘I emailed you the rushes from yesterday’s shoot. Did you check them out?’
‘Yeah,’ I said, staring at the cracks in my bedroom ceiling. ‘They’re fine. The lighting’s a little flat in the opening shots, but I can ask the editor to fix that in post.’
‘Okay, cool.’ The relief in his voice was apparent. ‘Thank God. I was worried you might hate them.’
‘I don’t.’ I picked at a loose thread on my duvet. ‘Is there anything else?’
‘Uh …’ He hesitated. ‘Is everything okay with you?’
‘Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?’
‘I dunno, maybe because you sound like you’re two seconds away from throwing something at me through the phone?’
Unbelievable, I wanted to yell at him. So you can seduce me and then subsequently pretend like you didn’t give me the most glorious orgasms of my life, slip right back into corporate mode, go hours without responding to my texts and I can’t even sound a little bit cross about it?
There was no way my pride would let me say all that, so instead I went with, ‘Forgive me for not sounding more warm and fuzzy when you went completely MIA on me yesterday.’
I could hear him exhaling loudly through the phone.
‘I wasn’t gallivanting around, Kavya,’ he said, his voice low and defensive.
‘I was at the shoot all day trying to keep it from falling apart. The actor was late so we lost the light we wanted, there was a one-hour powercut and Tanya had to leave before dark so I had to shoot half of the social media content myself.’ He let out a humourless laugh. ‘It was mad.’
My stomach clenched as I gave in to the grudging awareness that he wasn’t wrong.
Not about this anyway. As far as the launch campaign was concerned, he’d been super helpful.
An asset, even. It wasn’t fair to lump the work stuff in with everything that was bothering me about him.
‘Okay,’ I said, dialling back the edge in my voice.
‘Sorry … and thanks for holding down the fort.’
‘It’s cool.’ He sighed, settling back into his usual, easy tone. ‘Did you find another location for tomorrow?’
‘Yeah, a friend offered his place … for free.’
He let out a low whistle. ‘That’s very resourceful of you.’
I ignored his tone. ‘When does your flight land?’
‘Around 7 tonight … will you come to pick us up?’
I snorted. ‘Are you mad? It’s a two-hour drive from my place.’
‘So?’
‘So, no!’ I laughed. ‘I’ve booked you a cab. It’ll drop you, Tanya and the team straight to your hotel.’
He hummed. ‘Right. And where are you staying?’
‘With my family, of course.’
‘Oh.’
He hung up after a quick goodbye and I was left wondering if I’d imagined the disappointment in his voice.
Despite my many assurances that we’d be fine on our own, Arjun had decided to stay back and help out at the shoot.
And by ‘help out’, I mean he’d been rearranging half the guest house’s furniture without complaint, accommodating every odd request the crew threw at him, and keeping everyone fuelled with endless rounds of chai and cookies.
We had set up camp in the master bedroom on the first floor, the one with the wide glass window that opened out to the valley.
The crew had dragged the study table closer to the light, turned the coffee table into a makeshift prop station and were currently arguing about whether the curtain should be half-drawn or all the way open.
The actor was touching up her lipstick in the corner while the director, Abhinav, paced behind the monitor, muttering about cloud cover.
Tanya, Neil and I were perched on stools just outside the doorway, taking a brief breather while the shot was being set up.
Arjun had disappeared down the hallway again, probably to hunt for another extension cord or an extra chair.
Tanya nudged me lightly with her elbow as he passed by, carrying a stack of fresh cushions.
‘He’s quite the team player, isn’t he?’ she murmured.
‘He’s just making sure we don’t burn the place down.’ I took a sip of water, pretending this was all perfectly normal.
‘I doubt he’d mind if we did,’ she said, laughing. ‘As long as you asked nicely.’
I threw her a pointed look and she clamped her lips shut, trying to hold back her next quip. ‘So … he’s an old friend, huh?’
Next to me, Neil shifted his weight on the stool as he studied the shot list. The thought of glossing over my past with Arjun for his benefit did cross my mind, but then a more sound logic presented itself: Why would he care? It’s not like he likes me or anything.
‘We used to date, actually.’
‘That makes so much more sense,’ Tanya was saying, but it was tough to focus on her when Neil had dropped his clipboard and was staring at me with a peculiar expression on his face.
‘That guy is your ex?’ Neil’s eyebrows shot up.
It was impossible not to be offended at his tone. ‘Why do you say it like that?’
‘Just … didn’t think he’d be your type.’
Tanya chimed in, oblivious to the growing tension between us. ‘Have you seen his eyes? He’s everyone’s type.’
Neil pursed his lips and excused himself to go ask Abhinav if the shot would be ready soon. I watched begrudgingly as he stretched his arms behind his back, making his shoulder blades bunch up.
‘What’s his deal?’ Tanya jerked her chin towards Neil.
‘Probably just annoyed that he’s not the only cute guy on set.
’ I forced the most casual tone I could manage.
I hadn’t told Tanya about the events of The Night, mostly because I didn’t see the point anymore.
Neil’s internship was almost over and our fling—or whatever I could call it—had ended before it had even begun.
If I told her now, she’d turn it into a whole thing, and I didn’t have the energy for a whole thing.
I nudged her shoulder lightly. ‘But seriously, thanks for coming all the way out here. I know it’s a lot.
’ When Rajat had first suggested that Tanya be a part of the shoot to create behind-the-scenes content for social media, she hadn’t exactly jumped at the idea.
Losing the pitch-off was one thing, but being assigned to work on the winning idea was another small bruise her ego didn’t deserve.
She’d been gracious about it, of course, but I wasn’t blind. I knew it had to sting a little.
‘Meh, it’s fine. At least I got to escape my jailer parents for a bit,’ she said, exhaling. There was a heaviness in her tone that I wasn’t used to. I leaned in to say something, but the director called for quiet.
Back in the bedroom, the actor, Rhea, had taken her place at the study table facing the window. The clouds outside had begun to thin, revealing a muted stretch of green rolling down the valley.
‘Okay, Rhea,’ I said, crouching beside her. ‘You’ve just sat down at your desk in a brand-new city. Everything feels strange. You’re overwhelmed. And then you think about your home and you can finally … breathe.’
She nodded, rolling her shoulders back. She placed her palm over her Jharokha trousers, ready to stroke the fabric the way she’d been briefed. The crew fell silent.
‘Action,’ Abhinav called out.
I watched on the monitor as she inhaled slowly, her chest rising, her fingers grazing the linen garment. Then she turned her head towards the window. On cue, the camera panned to capture the breathtaking view outside.
We ran the shot again for safety, then again when the clouds shifted, then once more when Abhinav decided the curtains needed to be pulled back further.
Through each take, Neil and I stood next to each other at the monitor.
Every time he stepped closer to exchange notes on the shot, I found myself folding my arms tightly across my chest and leaning away.
If he noticed my stiffness, he didn’t say anything—just kept sneaking little glances at me between takes, like he was trying to decode something and coming up empty.
By the time we broke for lunch, we had wrapped the entire window sequence and only had a few clean shots of the valley to go. I was helping myself to my fourth slice of pizza in the living room downstairs when Arjun came up to me. ‘Hey.’ He sounded apologetic. ‘I might have to head out.’
I nodded, setting my plate down on the dining table. The crew was scattered around the room, chatting loudly as they decompressed. ‘Of course … is everything okay though?’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ He ran a hand over his short cropped hair. ‘Just a small issue at the orchard. A truck broke down so they need my help.’
‘Ah.’ I thought back to the time when he’d planned a birthday picnic for me at his family’s apple orchard. It was one of my favourite memories of us. ‘Go, seriously. You’ve already done more than enough for us.’
‘Finally,’ a voice said from behind me once he’d left. Neil was walking over to me, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.
‘What’s your problem?’ I jerked my chin up.
‘I’m just saying … you sure he won’t send us a hefty invoice for all this enthusiasm?’
‘Not everyone expects something in return for being nice, you know?’ I mumbled under my breath.
He frowned, a tiny crease forming between his brows. ‘Huh? What is that supposed to mean …’
His voice trailed off when Tanya joined us, her phone camera pointed directly in our faces. ‘Don’t stop talking, I’m just taking some BTS footage.’
Neil and I stared at each other, the awkwardness settling stubbornly between us. I could tell from the look in his eyes … he knew. Every ounce of resentment I’d tried to hide was written all over my face.
‘Ew … why do you guys look like a couple in the middle of a fight?’ She scrunched up her nose, unimpressed. ‘Do something normal, please.’ After a few more seconds of trying to get a usable clip, she scurried off to film the others.
‘Can we talk for a bit?’ Neil bent down to whisper in my ear, one hand touching the back of my arm.
Nope. You’ve already said enough by saying nothing at all these past few days.
‘Kavya,’ Abhinav called from across the room. ‘Can you come check the frame for the next shot?’
I gave Neil one last look before slipping my arm free and walking away.