Class Novel: Chapter 15 by Chad Oliver

Author's Note:

Sorry about the confusion of order, but I think we've got it figured out now. I interpretted Cody's injury as something that's either not a big deal or something that is a big deal that Cody is ignoring for Nat's sake and the sake of the movie. I decided to revisit the relationship with the mother and give Eugene a bigger part, with him knowing that Nat's pregnant before anyone else, I think there are interesting things to do with him after this. As for the ending, I'll leave it up to the next writer for what happens next. Maybe the camera isn't damaged, maybe she needs to somehow buy a new expensive lense? How does Susan respond? How does Eugene respond? Is Cody okay? Etc. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of this chapter, but I do feel I got things moving. I wrote it all in one sitting so I'm sorry for typos that are no doubt there.

Chapter 15
The lights were turned off. The thick hotel curtains were closed over the windows. The room was completely dark except for the laptop screen that illuminated Nat's face. She sat at the desk with her computer, her screenplay, three empty coffee mugs, and a forth one she was drinking out of now. Since Cody's side was still not feeling up to filming due to his side, she decided she would start looking at the footage they've already shot, color correct a few things, see what needs to be redone, and maybe edit a few of the scenes together.
She had been doing this for over twenty four hours now, taking breaks only to eat and go to the bathroom. Cody had called her before, asking if she wanted to go out and do something again. Nat said no, that he should get some rest.
Nat had been working on the scenes shot at the volcano. She couldn't get them to look quite right. They were overexposed and when she tried to adjust for it, the coloring was all messed up and it looked grainy. She decided they would have to reshoot the entire scene. "Of course," she said as she slammed her laptop shut. She looked at her watch. It was 10:00 in the morning. She had worked through the night and felt like she didn't get enough done to make her sacrifice of sleep worth it.
Buzz. Buzz.
Nat's phone lit up with a call from her mother. Nat hadn't talked to her since she had first arrived in Unalaska. She picked up the phone. "Hey Mom," she said.
Her mother said, "Natalie, dear how are you?"
"I'm good, Mom. Just doing some video editing."
"Oh good," She said. "Do you think you'll be done with that movie soon?"
"I don't know, Mom. It'll probably be a while."
"Okay." She said, "I miss you."
"I miss you too," Nat mumbled. "Well I've got to--"
"So what else is new?"
Nat's face flushed. Her hand was already on her belly. It seemed noticeably rounder today and she had figured she should start telling people. "I um..."
Nat could feel her heart pounding in her neck. Her breathing was heavy. She couldn't bring herself to say the words. She was pregnant.
"You know I saw Jack the other day," her mother said. "He asked about you."
Nat couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Natalie?" She said, "Are you there?
Nat said, "I'm here, I've just really got to go. It was good talking to you."
She hung up the phone and threw it down at the desk. Maybe she could just wear a heavy coat for the next few months and get away with never telling anyone. Nat hadn't even begun to think about what to do when the baby is finally born. She didn't know if she could or even wanted try to raise a kid. She didn't even know if she would ever get this movie done and this video editing session was certainly discouraging.
Nat's coffee had gotten cold. She carried her sip in her mouth to the bathroom sink and spat it out. She put her laptop into her bag and carried it with her out the door. In the hallway, there was a vending machine and Eugene was filling it up with snacks. He greeted her warmly and she ignored him. Before she could quite get away, Eugene sprung up and said, "Is everything okay, Nat?"
Nat stopped walking and turned around. "No, everything's not great. Everything kinda sucks right now actually."
"What's wrong?" He said, "Anything I can do to help?"
"Well, I'm here in Alaska which I feel is stuck ten years ago. And its cold and I'm trying to make this stupid movie and I don't know what I'm doing. I broke up with my boyfriend and now I'm pregnant with his kid so I'm probably gonna have to talk to him again and I'm not really looking forward to that. My lead actor bailed out on me so I had to find a new one, Cody. And he's great but he's inexperienced and now he's injured so we're having to put filming off for another week. So now I'm stuck in that room for the last thirty hours trying to edit video but finding out that half of the footage isn't any good and now I'm going to have to reshoot. And now my mom is trying to pressure me to quit my movie and come back home. Is that enough?"
Eugene was stunned. He just listened. When Nat was done ranting, Eugene just said, "You're pregnant?" Nat laughed and nodded. Eugene tossed her a Kit-Kat Bar from the vending machine. "Just take it one thing at a time. You'll make it."
"Thanks," she said, still overwhelmed with it all.
"And if I can be of any help in the filming process, just let me know." Eugene smiled, "I've never acted before or anything, but I can hold a camera or move heavy stuff for you."
"Thank you," She said, and she walked down the hallway. She took a bite out of the Kit-Kat Bar and she breathed.

Nat had forgotten the beautiful landscape of the volcano. There were clear skies, snowy peaks, and lots of sun. The serenity was continuously interrupted though. "Quiet on set!" Susan would yell. "Eugene, how are we on sound?" She said.
It had been a week since Eugene had offered to help with the movie and he was fumbling between the field recorder strapped to his belt and the extra long boom mic, struggling to find the record button. "I got it!"
"You're supposed to say 'speed,'" Susan said.
"Why?"
"I don't know, you just do," Susan said. "Nat, are we rolling?"
Nat had been staring into space, sleep deprived but she snapped back when Susan said her name. "Yes," she hit the record button. "Rolling."
"You okay, Nat?"
"Yes." Nat was tired of everyone asking her this. Perhaps she needed to smile more.
"Okay," Susan gave her a look as if to say 'We'll talk later.' She said, "Action."
Cody stepped into the shot, "I guess we can set up here for the night."
"Cut," Nat shouted out. "Boom is in the shot."
"Eugene!" Susan shouted. "How many times are you going to ruin the damn shot before you learn to hold it still?
Eugene said, "I'm so sorry. It's just so heavy."
Nat said, "It's okay Eugene." She turned to Susan, "He's trying his best. Take it easy on him."
"But he doesn't know what he's doing."
"Neither do we. And we don't exactly have a full crew. Let's just take all the help we can get."
"Okay," Susan said. "Lets set up again. Cody are you good?"
He nodded. Holding his side which was still bruised.
Susan called out, "Sound?"
Eugene said, "Speed."
"Camera?"
Nat said, "Rolling."
"Action."
Cody walked into the shot again. "Let's set up camp here."
The other actor said, "It's been two days. How much longer do you think we have?"
"Until what?" Cody said.
Nat started to notice the footage seemed shaky. She called, "Cut!"
Susan turned to her, frustrated. "Can we get through two lines without Eugene--"
"It's not Eugene, look in the monitor. The camera is doing something weird." Susan walked over to see what was happening but lost her footing on the way, nearly falling down. The ground was moving under them.
"Looks like another earthquake," Eugene said. "Shouldn't be a big deal, it'll pass."
That was when the shaking started to get violent. Cody fell on his injured side and screamed out, twisting on the ground in pain. Susan, laughing, landed on her ass. Nat managed to stay on her feet, but when Eugene lost his footing, the boom mic swung in every direction. It whipped into the camera, which was on a top-heavy tripod. It fell over and Nat dove to try to catch it before it fell. Lens-first, the camera landed on the ground and Nat landed next to it.