Spurt by Chris Miles Page B

his shins.
    He did not have a good feeling about ‘the sausage segment’.
    He set the camping stove up on a trestle table in the backyard and did his best to balance the frying pan on it. By this time Delilah had returned. She murmured instructions to Brett as he tried to get a few different angles on Jack’s struggles with his improvised barbecue.
    Eventually Jack gave up. He looked up at Delilah, hoping the pleading look in his eyes didn’t come across as being too pathetic. ‘Um, this really isn’t working.’
    Delilah shared a look with Brett, then nodded. ‘Okay, let’s mercy kill this one.’ She gave Jack a shrug and a smile. ‘It’s okay, we’ve got plenty of time. We’ll get some great vision tomorrow at school, I’m sure.’
    Jack nearly dropped his tongs. ‘School?’
    ‘Tomorrow’s Monday, right?’
    ‘Yeah, but …’ Jack swallowed hard. His stock had fallen drastically low at school. What if someone shouted out ‘Jack Spankley’ while the camera was rolling? How would he explain that away? Then again, maybe all the other students would fall silent as soon as they saw the cameras and sound equipment, the way the onlookers on the main street had done. Maybe the glare of the TV spotlight would eclipse all of his past embarrassments.
    But there was still the Natsumi Distagio situation. Somehow he had to keep her away from Delilah and the whole Bigwigs thing – at least until he’d had a chance to somehow warn her about the massive lie he’d blurted out on camera. Warn her – or maybe convince her to go along with it?
    Better still, make her his actual girlfriend.
    ‘Are you okay, Jack?’
    Jack snapped back to reality. Delilah was staring at him.
    ‘Yeah. Sure. Just … well, I don’t know if they actually allow filming at the school. There’s forms and things, probably.’
    ‘It’s all been cleared,’ said Delilah. ‘Trust us! We’re professionals. We’ve got all the right permits. We know what we’re doing.’
    I’m glad someone does , thought Jack. He was starting to wonder if he’d made a massive mistake agreeing to do the reunion show.
    ‘That Sampson guy seems interesting,’ said Delilah, casually, as she leant over to look into the camera viewfinder, inspecting the day’s footage. She looked up at Jack. ‘It’d be good to include him in the filming tomorrow somehow. What do you think?’
    I think I’ve definitely made a massive mistake , Jack said to himself.

Jack waited at the school gate, checking his watch. He felt like a bit of a dork, turning up to school almost a whole hour before the bell. He might as well have brought an apple for Mr Jacobs.
    Finally Delilah and her crew pulled up in their rented minivan. Delilah was in the front passenger seat, talking on the phone. She waved at Jack when she noticed him waiting by the gate, ended her call, and climbed out of the van while Brett and Todd unloaded their gear.
    ‘Sorry about the early start,’ she said. ‘We want to get as much vision as possible before you head in to class.’ She took a sip from the takeaway coffee she’d obviously bought on the way from her motel, then brought up some notes on her phone. ‘So you said you’d be meeting some of your friends first, right?’
    Jack nodded, but he worried he was being slightly optimistic. He hadn’t seen the others all weekend. Not that not seeing his friends was anything new. But things had been even weirder between them since Jack had told everyone he was going back on Bigwigs .
    ‘Do we have those releases ready?’ Delilah called to Brett. He slid a blue folder halfway out of his camera bag, which seemed to satisfy her. ‘Our agreement with your principal covers any filming inside the school grounds, but your friends will have to get these signed by their parents if they’re going to appear with you on camera.’
    Jack was still uneasy about being filmed at school. There were too many variables beyond his control. Variables like the shouting out