system processes them and spits them out. We pick up the damaged pieces. And each Explorer reacts differently. Most are pretty reluctant when they first get here.’
Like the scared girl in the denim jacket, looking like she wanted to run. I tried to picture where she’d come from and why she’d been sent to the community but found that I couldn’t guess.
‘But we ask them to turn their hearts, make a new beginning,’ Amos said.
I was growing used to the jargon, getting an inkling of what it might actually mean. So I tried not to take a cynical step back when he talked about turning hearts.
‘The wilderness helps them to learn respect.’ Amos paused, studied me then began again. ‘You don’t totally believe me, do you, Tania? But take Ziegler.’
The drop-dead-gorgeous coach sat with Holly at the central table. He heard his name mentioned, glanced up and smiled briefly.
‘Richard came to us aged seventeen.’
‘As an Explorer?’ I’d lost count of today’s surprises.
‘Juliet, my wife, spotted him on the set of one of my movies. He’d lied about his age and found work as a stuntman and body double. Then he got into trouble – street fights, petty larceny, that kind of thing.’
‘That’s hard to believe.’
‘Yes, when you look at him now. Originally we took him in for a ninety-day period.’
‘And he’s still here.’
‘On staff, as a team leader. How about that?’
‘Awesome,’ I said. From what little I’d seen of Richard Ziegler – at the lakeside on Saturday and again today, he seemed like one of those totally together people who can make decisions and take action in an emergency. It was hard to picture him as a punk kid in trouble with the cops.
‘My stepson says you were living in Paris.’ Amos cut across my thoughts. ‘Don’t look so surprised. We talked on the walk up to the cabin. I hear you want to study film.’
‘Yeah, it was fine art originally – painting. But then in Europe I saw a lot of video art, starting with Warhol. I got interested in instant playback and different ways of editing, especially when things went digital.’ Wow, I was loosening up at last, talking about film to Antony Amos, who was only one of the most successful directors of all time. ‘I like the underground Italian film makers.’
‘Stefano Cagol?’ he asked. ‘How about the home-grown guys – Matthew Barney, Gary Hill? And David Lynch – everyone knows Twin Peaks , huh?’
‘Yeah, cool.’
‘You know that Explorers here take footage of their wilderness experience?’ Taking off his glasses, Amos slipped them into his shirt pocket, accepting iced tea from Aurelie, who had reappeared from the kitchen.
‘No, I didn’t know that.’ This sounded really fascinating – I imagined some kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary, except here there were no walls, only forests, lakes and mountains.
Amos was still staring at me intently, weighing up what I’d said, the way I sounded. ‘So, Tania, why don’t you join us?’ he asked. ‘We could use some of your recently acquired editing skills.’
I was shocked. Truly. And I was on the spot, squirming. ‘I can’t,’ I told him in a rush. ‘I’m only home in Bitterroot for a couple of weeks at the most. Then I get on a plane and fly back to Europe.’
I left the cabin ahead of Grace and Holly, needing to walk and put distance between myself and the decision that had fallen out of my mouth under pressure from Antony Amos.
I was going back to Paris, end of story. Because I loved film as much as Orlando loved fashion, because I felt further from dark angel danger over there. And because I’d promised Mom. Sorry, Orlando. So sorry, my love. I strode away from Trail’s End along the track, my heart pumping hard. Tonight, when I got home, I would Skype him, check he was safe then explain my plan. It would be one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I would tell him and hurt pride would make him do his cut-off thing again. He
Like the scared girl in the denim jacket, looking like she wanted to run. I tried to picture where she’d come from and why she’d been sent to the community but found that I couldn’t guess.
‘But we ask them to turn their hearts, make a new beginning,’ Amos said.
I was growing used to the jargon, getting an inkling of what it might actually mean. So I tried not to take a cynical step back when he talked about turning hearts.
‘The wilderness helps them to learn respect.’ Amos paused, studied me then began again. ‘You don’t totally believe me, do you, Tania? But take Ziegler.’
The drop-dead-gorgeous coach sat with Holly at the central table. He heard his name mentioned, glanced up and smiled briefly.
‘Richard came to us aged seventeen.’
‘As an Explorer?’ I’d lost count of today’s surprises.
‘Juliet, my wife, spotted him on the set of one of my movies. He’d lied about his age and found work as a stuntman and body double. Then he got into trouble – street fights, petty larceny, that kind of thing.’
‘That’s hard to believe.’
‘Yes, when you look at him now. Originally we took him in for a ninety-day period.’
‘And he’s still here.’
‘On staff, as a team leader. How about that?’
‘Awesome,’ I said. From what little I’d seen of Richard Ziegler – at the lakeside on Saturday and again today, he seemed like one of those totally together people who can make decisions and take action in an emergency. It was hard to picture him as a punk kid in trouble with the cops.
‘My stepson says you were living in Paris.’ Amos cut across my thoughts. ‘Don’t look so surprised. We talked on the walk up to the cabin. I hear you want to study film.’
‘Yeah, it was fine art originally – painting. But then in Europe I saw a lot of video art, starting with Warhol. I got interested in instant playback and different ways of editing, especially when things went digital.’ Wow, I was loosening up at last, talking about film to Antony Amos, who was only one of the most successful directors of all time. ‘I like the underground Italian film makers.’
‘Stefano Cagol?’ he asked. ‘How about the home-grown guys – Matthew Barney, Gary Hill? And David Lynch – everyone knows Twin Peaks , huh?’
‘Yeah, cool.’
‘You know that Explorers here take footage of their wilderness experience?’ Taking off his glasses, Amos slipped them into his shirt pocket, accepting iced tea from Aurelie, who had reappeared from the kitchen.
‘No, I didn’t know that.’ This sounded really fascinating – I imagined some kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary, except here there were no walls, only forests, lakes and mountains.
Amos was still staring at me intently, weighing up what I’d said, the way I sounded. ‘So, Tania, why don’t you join us?’ he asked. ‘We could use some of your recently acquired editing skills.’
I was shocked. Truly. And I was on the spot, squirming. ‘I can’t,’ I told him in a rush. ‘I’m only home in Bitterroot for a couple of weeks at the most. Then I get on a plane and fly back to Europe.’
I left the cabin ahead of Grace and Holly, needing to walk and put distance between myself and the decision that had fallen out of my mouth under pressure from Antony Amos.
I was going back to Paris, end of story. Because I loved film as much as Orlando loved fashion, because I felt further from dark angel danger over there. And because I’d promised Mom. Sorry, Orlando. So sorry, my love. I strode away from Trail’s End along the track, my heart pumping hard. Tonight, when I got home, I would Skype him, check he was safe then explain my plan. It would be one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I would tell him and hurt pride would make him do his cut-off thing again. He
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