Yet, a stone of disappointment sat heavy in my belly. Sharing a room would have given us the freedom to at least talk privately. I wanted to offer a trade but couldn’t without drawing attention to myself or raising questions.
Gale glanced at Noah, who offered him an amiable smile.
“Are you disappointed, Devereaux?”
I snapped my attention to Charles, realizing too late I’d been staring forlornly at Gale. “Disappointed?”
“You look like someone stole your popsicle.”
“No.”
“All right. No need to get defensive.” He wore a smirk I couldn’t read.
“So I guess I’m with Elliott?”
“The long-lost team member. He’d better show up.”
“He will.” I accepted a key card on an orange lanyard.
“Seventeen A.”
Charles turned to the group and pointed across the street. “The diner has a decent menu. I’ve set up a tab with the owner. I reiterate. Unless you’re shitting, showering, changing, jacking off, or sleeping, you are not hanging out in your room. I want a camera on youat all times. Understand?”
No one said a word.
“You are still responsible for filming, but since I can no longer trust you, I’m also leaving my crew behind to ensure nothing is missed. Becca, Arty, and Hugh will become your shadows. You will not interact with them. You will pretend they aren’t here. Don’t avoid them or ask them to leave you alone. It’s not happening. Your life is mine until we’ve got enough coverage for eight full episodes.”
Hugh, the only person of Charles’s crew who hadn’t gone to install car cams, grinned as he patted a fat camera bag.
No one looked impressed, but we all knew it wasn’t worth submitting a complaint. We’d signed up for this.
The rooms were functional. Two queen-size beds separated by a nightstand and dated furniture. It was clean, and my mother was hundreds of miles away, so I was happy. Dropping my backpack onto the bed nearest the bathroom, I considered unpacking since we would be there for a few days.
Before I bothered, I tried the doorway between my room and the one next door. It belonged to Noah and Gale. Each A and B room was connected. Charles had made a point of telling Olivia and Maggie that the one between theirs and command was locked, so it made me wonder if he’d instructed the other doors to be left unlocked.
I tried the knob, and it opened.
Noah whipped his head in my direction. “The hell?”
“Hey, neighbors. How’s it going?”
“I’m trying to remember why we signed up for this shit.” Noah returned to unpacking his bag.
“You and me both. Why aren’t you filming? Didn’t you hear Charles? We are to be on cameraat all times.” I used his voice and emphasis.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Our rooms are the safe zones.”
“For now. Until he decides they aren’t.”
I noted Gale sitting with his back turned on the far bed, ignoring us as he paged through a paperback. I wanted to draw him into conversation, but I didn’t know how.
Noah noticed where my attention strayed and shrugged. I assumed Gale hadn’t said much. I wanted to tell Noah to go easy on him, but I couldn’t.
Inviting myself in, I flopped on Noah’s bed as he dug a personal video camera from its protective case. I wanted to be near Gale without making it obvious.
“So,” I said before Noah had the camera running, “what do you think we did to deserve this bullshit?”
“We edited our footage.”
