“When I stepped foot on this set, I was told that under no circumstances would I be allowed to talk to you or your brother. Care to discuss what’s changed?”
I looked up at Grace Lee. “Excuse me?”
“Your family has refused to comment on the adaptation of Elementia from day one, and now you’d like to make a statement? I find I’m more curious about your change of heart than I am about your opinion.”
Holy shit.
“Where’s Henrik?”
“Busy. The camera crane sunk six inches into the mud and nearly toppled into the lake.”
“Oh no.”
Grace wrote in her small notebook before clicking on an audio recording app on her phone. “Do you mind if I record you?”
“No, that’s good.” This way she couldn’t claim I said something I didn’t, right?
She saw how spooked I was and smiled. She had a good smile. Maybe she wasn’t here to eat me alive. “Let’s start with a different topic. Can you describe your relationship with your grandmother, M. E. Thorne, in a few words?”
“Nonexistent,” I said.
Grace squinted, and I remembered I was supposed to be helping the production.
“My father and my grandmother were not on speaking terms during my lifetime. I only met her once.”
“Do you remember that?”
I shook my head, unwilling to share that snapshot of a memory with her for anything.
“How do you think she’d feel about a film adaptation of her deeply personal and effecting story? A story written about the untimely death of her own daughter?”
I gargled air. It sounded horrible, and Grace looked way too excited by such an emotional reaction.
Start with honesty, Iris, Cate Collins said, matter-of-fact and calm in my thoughts.
“My dad told me she wouldn’t have been pleased about an adaptation,” I admitted. “She wasn’t a fan of Hollywood, although I think that’s his opinion and not hers. The truth is that I came on this set with daydreams about shutting down the production. Now I’m willing to break my family’s cardinal rule about talking to the press to save it.”
Grace’s smile deepened, and she wrote in her notebook. “Tell me what’s changed.”
“The people. At first I thought they were all brainwashed by the fandom, but everyone is working hard. Every time something goes wrong, everyone steps up. It’s inspiring, and Cate’s giving her all.”
“How so?” Grace asked too fast.
“She can handle everything. She knows every detail, and she works endless hours.”
“You’re saying she’s micromanaging the production?”
“What? No, no.” I pinched my leg and pushed forward. “The actors are…great. Shoshanna Reyes and Julian Young and Eamon O’Brien. All great.”
“I’ve been told O’Brien hasn’t filmed yet.”
“Yeah, but he’s still great. Like as a human.” Say something other than great, Iris. “Terrific.”
Terrific?
“Do you have a comment about the rumor that Shoshanna Reyes will be pulling out of the production?”
“That’s bull crap,” I snapped. Grace’s smirk tightened as she scribbled; I’d been played. Again. “She’s committed to the film from what I’ve seen.”
“And how do you feel about a self-identified pansexual girl playing the lead in your grandmother’s story? Do you think your grandmother would have had a problem with that?”
I did not take the bait this time, but I felt my ears rush hot. “Shoshanna is incredibly talented.” I wanted to point out what Shoshanna had told me only that morning that her life was riddled with double standards. Complications and inequality. She knew Sevyn’s struggle better than anyone I could imagine, but I couldn’t quite put myself behind the words. “She is Sevyn,” I managed. “My grandmother would have loved her.”
“I thought you didn’t know your grandmother.”
“Are all reporters this impossible to talk with?”
Now I’d gotten her. Grace closed her notebook but didn’t turn off her recording app. I took advantage and kept talking. “Look, I’m not into fantasy. Not even my grandmother’s story, but the people here believe in this adaptation with their whole hearts and that comes through in each take.”
I was proud of myself, even prouder when I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Henrik. “Everything going all right?” he asked.
“You have had quite the sway on this young lady,” Grace said. “She’s a firecracker.”
“Iris reminds Cate of herself as a teen. She’s said so several times.”
Cate thinks I am like her? For real?
“Tell me that crane broke, Henrik,” Grace said, leaning forward with a slick smile.
“No, it did not.” He motioned for me to leave with a hook of his thumb.
I walked away, fists tight. I thought I’d done all right, and I looked for Eamon, wanting to speak up some more. To try and explain why I’d frozen up in the recording studio. But he was nowhere in sight. I looked for Shoshanna next, planning to ask if Grace’s rumor was real, but everyone was busy getting ready to film.
Even Ryder was helping Mr. Donato plan a dessert surprise for after Eamon’s big scene. The best scene in the book, according to several people, although my reading in the studio yesterday had left me wondering what I was still missing when it came to M. E. Thorne’s Elementia.
THE POINT IN THE STORY WHERE EVERYTHING HAS GOT TO CHANGE
Killykeen was transformed with the sunset. The crew came together in a rush of activity that felt nearly seamless. I hoped Grace Lee was still poking around to witness the success, but she’d already left.
Ryder and I sat on twin canvas chairs in the video village—the sectioned-off area of monitors where Cate and Henrik and a few other people watched the filming. We were filming at dusk, the so-called magic hour, which I was surprised to learn was a film term, not a fantasy one. I watched the sun linger warmly at the horizon, while the sky ached blue and yellow.
Azure and goldenrod…
“Picture’s up!” Cate hollered, making everyone snap into place. Shoshanna drew all eyes, standing farther down the shore by herself, wearing the same getup she’d worn during the burning of the tree. If I remembered my Elementia,
