Private Hour
Hello everyone, this is my first work I hope it is of your liking.
I want to thank my dear friend " SaintOfBurnout " for the proofreading!
«It sure is crowded here» yelled Maxxie, struggling to overcome the loud noises all around them.
«First time partying with us mere mortals?» Làra mocked her with a malicious grin, her northern accent making her words even sharper.
Maxxie tried to reply, but a man stumbled on her as soon as she opened her mouth «Sorry missy» mumbled the visibly sleepy fellow, before disappearing into the sea of people.
«Come with me» The other girl grabbed her hand and guided her to a more viable area of the camp.
All around them there were people of every ethnicity and citizenship, some half naked and other with bright dresses, laying on the ground, dancing or moving among the tents.
All of them were standing in the open, right outside the city and under a starry sky, with pro-environment signs scattered in the valley; despite the mess, Maxxie was mesmerised by all those colours, smells and energy "If my manager knew I was here, he would be sooooo pissed" she thought, "and he would be right! Why the fuck did I come here?"
Maxxie Wilkins was a 23-year-old girl from England, with a slim and elegant figure, short brown hair, pale skin and, most importantly, she was an actress.
She had been in the field since she was twelve, encouraged by her parents to follow their same path. She was not really famous yet, just simple roles in a couple of TV shows, but her manager finally found a role for her in a big movie with the possibility of a real career breakthrough. If she succeeded, her parents would have been super proud.
They were ready to start shooting, but they were interrupted by an environment protest: the troupe wanted to use an outdoor set for most of the shooting, but the activists were against it because it would have scared the wildlife and polluted a part of the forest. Their bickering continued for three whole days.
The director, foaming with rage, tried to make them leave by force but their leader did not budge an inch; that leader was Làra.
Làra was a 30-years-old Danish girl, with long and messy blonde hair and a delicate face that did not match her fury and determination at all. She had been a climate activist since forever and whenever she was needed, she arrived with steadiness and fire in her blue eyes.
Làra became a problem also for Maxxie, although for a different reason. She observed her behind one of the sets every time the two groups had an argument and was amazed at how that girl was able to stand her ground against multiple people. Something about her sharp words, her immovable attitude, maybe even her curves captivated her mind. She found herself thinking about her more and more, even at night.
Every time she thought the activist was about to look her way, she instinctively moved back into hiding, not fully knowing why; her heart suddenly beating like crazy, Làra's gaze and energy haunting her day and night.
On the third night the crew's camp stood silent but, in the distance, Maxxie could hear the protestors yelling in the night. They set up a camp, started dancing at dusk and it seemed like they had no intention of stopping until dawn. Their intention was probably to keep all the crew awake all night long, but Maxxie was sure that she would have had a troubling sleep even in the most silent of the nights. Làra's eyes were still impressed on her retina, and her heart was still beating fast.
She could clearly feel a desire to meet her, to speak to her, and it was obvious that it was also the only way that she could find any sleep that night. The director told them that evening that by tomorrow the police would have finally the permission to come and remove them. No more nice guy, he said. For the crew it meant that soon the shootings could finally start, for her it meant that soon she would lose the chance to talk to her.
"Talk to her and do what?" She thought angrily in her bedsheets "Why do I care? Why do I keep thinking about her?" But the answers, as much as her sleep, were not in sight.
Cursing herself, she got up from the bed and started dressing "This is stupid. This is absolutely stupid!" She kept mumbling to herself while she took out her pyjama and, with her pale skin illuminated by her star shaped lamp, started to choose which clothes to put on.
She went out as stealthy as possible and then walked toward the camp, looking for that darn woman. Luckily, she found her rather quickly; she was at the edge of the camp with five other guys keeping an eye on the caravans on the other side of the vale.
Làra was the first to notice her: «What are you doing here? »
She did not know what to say and didn't even fully comprehend why her mind wanted to talk to her so badly. She gazed off a little bit before finally saying something «Hello, I'm Maxxie. Maxxie Wilkins. I am one of the actresses»
They stared at her for a couple of silent and long seconds, then the guy on her left asked «And...? What do you want Maxxie?»
«I was thinking...you know, maybe we have started with the wrong foot. I-I understand your points...really! What I want to say is, we could talk something out and then I could mediate with the director. I am one of the leading actresses and...»
«We don't give a shit about who you are» replied another guy, adamantly «The director knows why we are here and so do you. We need more secure forests, not more fancy movies.»
«Yes of course, which is why we...we could try to reach an agreement somehow...» Maxxie quickly realized that her words weren't getting through, everybody looked at her with diffidence. Everybody except Làra, who continued to stare at her silently with an...interested gaze maybe? It was hard to tell.
«Listen Làra...I can call you Làra right? The director is an asshole, I know, but not all of us agree with his stubbornness and would be willing to move elsewhere for the shootings. I just want to talk...just to see if we can better understand our positions» Her heart started beating faster and faster while everybody kept staring at her «Maybe it is better in a calmer place...to reach an agreement...you and me...» "Oh God, what am I saying?"
Her statement was soon followed by a chorus of laughs.: «You hear this, guys? Princess demands some time alone with our boss» yelled the boy at her right «Listen Hollywood girl, I think--»
«Shove your thoughts up your ass, Mikahil» Làra abruptly interrupted him «You wanna talk, Hollywood girl?»
«Maxxie.»
«What?»
«My name is Maxxie...and I'm from Norfolk, not Hollywood.»
Làra smiled «All right, Maxxie from Norfolk, come with me.»
And here she was, walking in the middle of night through a camp following a complete stranger deep into the forest "Wait, why is she taking me into the forest?"
«Do you keep your tent separated from the others? »
«What? Oh, that. I simply know a more isolated place inside the forest, that's it. My tent is in the middle and we would not be able to talk privately like you wanted. »
«Oh, I see...»
«You scared?»
«You wish» she tried to reply bravely, but clearly failed since Làra started to laugh
«Don't worry, I only kill people who do not pick up the trash from the ground. Are you perhaps somebody who doesn't pick up trash from the ground?»
«This is not funny»
«You avoided the question, smart girl...anyway, here we are.»
Maxxie looked around and noticed that they arrived at a small clearing in the woods, devoid of trees but covered with grass and some flowers; the full moon was shining upon them, while they were surrounded by nature and silence, except from the cicadas and the faint noise coming from the camp.
«You want to keep staring at the trees all night or you wanna join me?»
Maxxie turned to her left and saw that Làra sat down on the grass; the activist had a serene smile on her face and the moon was grazing her silhouette making her look almost etereal, like a spirit of the forest.
She quietly sat down, lost in the other woman's eyes
«You wanted to talk right? Then talk.»
«About what?»
Làra smiled «You tell me.»
Maxxie couldn't find anything to say.
«For starters, tell me about yourself, Maxxie.»
Maxxie talked, a lot: she talked about her parents high expectations and her career, her hobbies and her passions, her friends and her ex-boyfriend; her words were like a river, for some reasons she knew that she could be open with her.
It looked like Làra felt the same, since after a while she started to share her story too: her humble origins and her activist life, the joys of living in contact with nature and the pain of the many responsibilities she burdened herself with. They just met, but there was clearly some sort of chemistry between them, a spiritual-like connection.
After what looked like an hour, Làra asked «Why did you want to talk to me?»
«W-well...I told you, I wanted to reach an agreement. I wanted to talk about this situation.»