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The stunt was set up, and the AD shouted, ‘Action’.

Hannah kept her own fingers crossed as Caleb stepped forward and smoothly stamped on the springboard, flinging his body upwards and back. The explosion happened almost simultaneously – at least in real time. She was sure that when they slowed it all down for dramatic effect in post-production, it would appear as Caleb had suggested.

Within another blink of her eye the wire did its work, flinging Caleb like a ragdoll – much like how she’d felt being thrown around in her wetsuit, except a hundred times worse.

The ensemble dancers dropped to ground as if they’d been thrown down by the explosion, even though the puff of air and smoke had barely reached further than the bottom step. In a way it was an anti-climax, until she heard the loud slap of Caleb’s body smacking into the safety cushion. She stumbled forward a couple of feet, knowing in her mind that the safety cushion would have done its job, but her heart still flinched at the sound. However, the wire held him tight; he rebounded a foot from the cushion and was now dangling in the air like a limp puppet.

‘Ready for the drop?’ asked the AD.

‘Ready!’ declared Caleb with a thumbs up, his head deliberately down so that the black wig he wore obscured his face.

The cameras were all moved and the next shot set up. ‘Is he going to dangle up there while they do all this?’

‘Guess so,’ said Zach with a sympathetic wince.

Hannah checked her watch. ‘I’ll keep an eye on the time. It can’t be good for his circulation – those harnesses are tight.’

‘Too right they are, not to mention the leather pants! Don’t want his lovely bits to lose circulation,’ muttered Zach in an admiring tone that had her elbowing him sharply in the ribs.

When Caleb had been dangling for nearly twenty-five minutes, Hannah hurried the AD along, who reassured her they were about to start filming.

‘Action!’ the AD shouted a moment later.

Caleb was once again slammed into the wall, this time minus the cushion and from only a couple of feet away.

Hannah was so impressed, she had to squeeze her hands together and bite her lip to stop herself from clapping and cheering.

‘Cut!’ said the AD, and Caleb joined Franco and a pool of crew to check the monitor to watch the sequence.

Hannah took out her phone; as always, it had been put on silent first thing in the morning.

The beach post she’d taken two weeks ago had started a little habit. She posted pictures of herself in her medic uniform, and bits of the studios, mentioning her ‘exciting new job as a film medic in the Gold Coast’. It had gained her a few more hundred followers as well as plenty of engagement. This morning she’d tagged the book name in her pics and had taken a picture of a little bit of the set – only a very small piece, and one she’d seen posted on Bianca’s socials – so it must have been okay to use.

She almost dropped her phone when she saw the number of hearts and follows she’d received since this morning. The fans of the series were desperate for as much news about the film as they could get.

‘Bloody hell!’ she whispered, her hands beginning to shake as she scrolled down, paralysed by the overwhelming task of attempting to answer all of them.

Zach peered over her shoulder curiously and tutted. ‘You’ve done it now. They’ll only expect more.’

Her immediate shock was replaced by pride. People loved her content! Her job was cool! Had she finally made it past the couple-of-hundred-hearts obscurity posts? Was she an influencer now? Better than Pat Bloody Down Under?

As if to confirm her suspicions a blast from her very unwelcome past happened to be one of the commenters. ‘Amazing Han! So great to see you doing so well! I’m in the Gold Coast too, maybe I’ll see you around.’

The immediate recoil was enough for her to swipe away the app. There was no way she’d reply to that passive aggressive comment. He’d been the one to walk away – not her!

There was a lot of muttering from around the monitor, and then the AD shouted, ‘Again!’

‘What was wrong with that?’ she asked, offended on Caleb’s behalf.

‘Probably didn’t hit the mark, it can make editing tricky.’

Caleb was re-attached to the harness and winched into position. ‘Do you think they’d mind if I filmed this?’ she whispered, half-afraid the AD with the clipboard might hear and fire her on the spot.

Zach shrugged. ‘If it’s not the main actors, and you have Caleb and production’s permission, I don’t see why not. Film it and then show them what you plan to post and the caption. Sometimes production even encourages it, as it helps build buzz for the movie. But’ – he fixed her with an uncharacteristically firm look – ‘always ask for production’s approval. You really should have done that for the earlier stuff.’

‘It’s on Bianca’s feed,’ she squeaked defensively.

Zach shrugged. ‘Then it’s probably fine. But I’d check in future to be safe. What talent gets away with isn’t the same for us, right?’