The Making of…

Chapter 15

A Change of Location

As it was going to be Liv’s last night in New Zealand for a while, the cast decided to go out for drinks after dinner. We found ourselves back in the bar we had been in around a week ago, sitting around a large table. I was sitting between Viggo and Liv and was chatting to Liv as much as I could, as I had realised how much I would miss her when she was gone.

“Don’t worry,” She smiled, “I’ll be back in a few weeks, you won’t even notice the time go by!”

“Yeah…” I sighed, “But you’re leaving me alone with a bunch of guys! I’m not going to have any girls to talk to!” It was true, there were very few women on set apart from Liv, Lou and Lani – I often wondered why their names all began with ‘L’, was I missing something here?

“You’ll be fine.” She assured me with an easy smile as Orlando caught her attention and they started talking. Elijah told me it was my turn to go buy the drinks, so I went to stand, but Viggo caught my arm.

“Stay out of trouble this time, ok?” He grinned as I rolled my eyes.

“Sure thing.” I smiled. I returned with the drinks quickly and handed them out, before edging back to my seat.

“So,” Billy said, leaning over the table to talk to Viggo and myself as I sat down again, “I hear you two went fishing today.”

“Yeah.” Viggo replied as Dom leaned over to me.

“Did Vig show you his rod?” He asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Shut it Dom!” I cried, flicking his forehead.

“Hey!” He cried in defence, “It was a perfectly innocent question!”

“I know an innuendo when I hear one.” I muttered, glaring daggers at him as I sipped my drink.

“In-your-end-o…” He hissed under his breath.

“Your mum.” I retorted with a smirk as I heard him and Billy giggle hysterically. “Idiots…” I muttered, sinking back in my chair; I could almost hear Viggo rolling his eyes at us. How was I going to survive this without Liv?

Some time after that, someone decided that it would be a good idea to go back to Elijah’s hotel room and watch a movie. We ended up watching ‘Armageddon’- one of Liv’s biggest films, and at some point after that (roughly around three in the morning), Billy and Dom thought it would be a good idea to try and get everyone to play charades. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep sometime during that… I wasn’t winning anyway.

***

I woke up the next morning on a sofa that was becoming increasingly familiar to me. I yawned and sat up, wondering how I’d gotten into Viggo’s room. I sleepily looked around and spotted him still asleep in his bed across the room. I walked to the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water to wake myself up, before wandering back to the room and seeing Viggo sitting up.

“Good morning.” I smiled cheerfully, holding back laughter at the sight of his messy hair. And I’d thought Ihad a bad bed-head!

“Hey, you’re awake.” He yawned with a smile as he clambered out of bed. I went back over to the sofa and folded the blanket he’d covered me with.

“So, erm… How exactly did I get here?” I asked awkwardly, blushing a little.

“Oh, you fell asleep in Lij’s room and I didn’t have your key, so I figured you would be fine with staying here.”

“Thanks.” I smiled, leaning against the sofa as he went to brush his teeth.

“I would have left you in Elijah’s room, but Orlando had already passed out on the couch.” He explained from the bathroom. I laughed and then frowned a little.

“You say ‘couch’? That’s so American!” I giggled.

“Yeah? Well what do you say?”

“Sofa.” I replied simply.

“That’s so British.” He retorted with a smile as he walked back into the room.

“Well I’m British, deal with it.” I grinned.

“Well I’m American, deal with it.” He smirked, sitting down on the sofa as I flopped down beside him.

“Have you always lived in America?” I asked curiously.

“No, I’m half Danish, so I lived in Denmark for a while. I grew up in America though.” He replied. “What about you, always been British?”

“I’m Northern Irish.” I corrected him.

“That’s still British.”

“Yeah, but it’s country-specific.”

“Ok, have you always lived in Northern Ireland then?” He asked with a smile as he rephrased the question.

“No, I lived in Scotland for a few years whilst I was getting my career going, I moved back home a couple of months before Peter cast me though.” I replied, just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. “Speak of the Devil…” I muttered as I checked the caller ID and saw that it was Peter. “Hey Pete!” I answered cheerfully.

“Hi Kira, did everyone have a good time last night?”

“Yeah it was great! Has Liv left already?” I asked.

“Well her flight left half an hour ago, so I assume she was on it!” He laughed, “I’m just calling to remind you that we’re moving out of the hotel today.”

“Yeah I remember.” I smiled. Peter had told us a few days ago that we’d be moving out of the hotel soon. “We’re moving into the trailers, right?”

“Yeah, it’s just to save time with going between sets and things like that.” He replied, “Are you ok with getting a ride down to the new set?”

“I suppose,” I murmured, casting a glance at Viggo, “I’m sure Vig won’t mind giving me a lift down.” I shrugged as he smiled and mouthed ‘sure’.

“He’s with you now, isn’t he?” Peter asked.

“How did you know?” I laughed.

“You two always seem to be together.” He replied, “Alright, I’ll see you on set later!”

“’Kay, see you later Pete!” I smiled as I hung up.

“Was that about moving out today?” Viggo asked.

“Yeah, he just wanted to make sure I could get a lift down.”

“Do you still have much to pack?”

“No, only a few things.” I replied.

“Ok, so shall we meet downstairs in about an hour?”

“Sure.” I smiled, hauling myself off the sofa. “Thanks for letting me stay over again last night.”

“No problem.” He laughed, “See you later!”

“Bye!” I waved as I shut the door behind me.

*

An hour later, I was standing in the reception area of the hotel wearing my denim shorts, blue Superman T-shirt and flip-flips, with my guitar case slung over my shoulder and my suitcase at my feet. The temperature was soaring outside, it was even roasting inside – and I was standing under the air-con!

“Hey Ki!”

I turned to see Viggo jogging towards me, looking a little more awake than he had been earlier and hauling his luggage behind him.

“Hi,” I smiled, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” He grinned, heading over to the desk and handing over his key, “Let’s hit the road!”

“You’re making it sound like we’ve just robbed a bank!” I laughed, slipping on my sunglasses in a ‘shady’ manner.

“Well how do you what I’ve been doing for the past hour?” He winked.

We drove to the set with the windows rolled down, blaring music out of the car stereo and singing along. We were driving to a forest called Paradise, in Glenorchy on the South Island.

“This place better be pretty damn beautiful to be called ‘Paradise’.” I grinned, leaning out the window as cool air buffeted my face. Viggo laughed and turned down the music a little so we could talk.

“Well its right in the middle of one of the most beautiful countries in the world, so I think it’ll be pretty nice.” He smiled, glancing at the dashboard. “We need to get gas at the next stop.”

“Petrol.”

“What?”

“Its petrol. ‘Gas’ is the American way of saying it.” I smirked.

“Haven’t we already been through this today?” He sighed as he pulled into a roadside filling station.

“It’s not my fault you talk funny…” I mumbled, trying to hide my smile as he rolled his eyes and hopped out of the car.

“Sure.” He smiled, shutting the door and leaning in the open window. “I’ll be right back.”

I sighed and leant back in my seat as he filled up the tank and then walked into the small shed-like shop to pay. After I had made a thorough analysis of a faded Coca-Cola billboard he returned and tossed me a can of the very same product.

“Thanks.” I smiled, catching it and holding it out the open window as I pulled the ring-tab and the contents fizzed out.

“Don’t get my car sticky.” He joked, indicating towards the worn, slightly shabby interior of the Jeep.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I smirked as I sipped from the can and he started the engine, before pulling back onto the road.

We pulled in to the massive gravel car park in the early evening. It had taken most of the afternoon to reach the new set. Everywhere you looked there trailers, buses and cars squeezed in to any space available.

“Well this is… Cosy?” I grinned, pulling my bags out of the car.

“Cosy, snug… Claustrophobic…” Viggo continued.

“Now let’s be optimistic!” I teased, “Come on, this is going to be fun! It’s like having our own little town-on-wheels!”

“Hey guys! You made it!” Peter’s unmistakeable voice yelled from across the car park. I turned to see him waving us enthusiastically towards the trailers he was standing in front of. “So, do you like our little piece of organised chaos?” He grinned as we caught up with him.

“Totally awesome, as always!” I laughed, “Which ones are ours?” I asked, nodding towards the trailers.

“These two.” Peter said, pointing to the trailers we were standing between. “You guys are the first here, so you get the ones closest to the set.”

“Great, thanks Pete.” Viggo grinned, as we were handed the keys. I opened the door to my trailer and he did the same opposite me. I climbed the small flight of steps and stepped into my new home.

“Wow it has a kitchen!” I cried, instantly taking in my surroundings. It was like a large caravan, still cramped, but big enough for one. The door opened out onto the kitchen – which had a small cooker and oven, a sink and a fridge-freezer. The kitchen sort of merged into the living room, which consisted of one small sofa and a fold-out table, and then there was my ‘bedroom’ – a bed and some storage space. “This is so cool!” I laughed, depositing my bags on my bed and walking over to the window that faced Viggo’s trailer and opening it. “Hey neighbour!” I yelled as he appeared at the window and opened it.

“Hey,” He grinned, leaning out. “Having fun?”

“You bet! This is like being on holiday!”

“You’re such a child.” He teased.

“Damn straight!” I giggled, “I’m going to unpack, see you in a while!”

*

After I’d taken a shower and changed out of my travelling clothes – back into my trusty cut-off jeans and t-shirt – it seemed like everyone else had arrived. Our trailers were arranged in rows, so on my side I had Orlando, Elijah, Dom, and John. On Viggo’s side there was Sean (Bean), Sean (Astin – It was getting confusing with those two!), Billy and Ian. I sat on the steps of my trailer, basking in the evening sun, until I heard someone jog up to me.

“Hey Ki!” Dom called.

“Hi,” I smiled, shielding my eyes from the sun so I could look at him, “What’s up?”

“We’re having a barbeque, want to come?”

“Sure!” I grinned as he offered me his hand and pulled me up off the steps. As we walked past Viggo’s trailer I rapped loudly on the window. “Vig! Food! Now! Get moving!” I yelled, before following Dom to the other end of the row of trailers and buses, to where a small space had been cleared and people were sitting around a barbeque in their chairs. I found my ‘Rana’ chair and sat down as Billy handed me a hotdog. Viggo jogged over a few minutes later and pulled his chair over beside me as Elijah tossed us drinks. After we’d eaten, Peter stood up.

“Right guys, filming resumes as normal tomorrow.” He announced to everyone, “So don’t stay up too late!”