‘Nobody tells me much of anything around here,’ Rose said. ‘And somebody here told me this sinking was a big event …’
‘Oh yeah, that,’ he said. The queue shuffled forward. ‘It really is a big deal once they get to the last few eliminations later on. The first couple are really just family days and fan events. But you know … free food!’
‘I wouldn’t get too excited,’ Rose said, looking down at her half-eaten burger. ‘I think I know where all the sawdust’s been going.’
‘Free is free,’ Dan said with admirable logic. ‘Plus I only live a few blocks away. And it’s a boat being sunk – you don’t see that every day.’
‘Only once a week if you work here,’ Rose said with a smile. It wasn’t exactly a carnival atmosphere, but the crowd was definitely getting into the swing of things – and out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple of grips wheeling out another fridge, this one with glass doors that showed it was full of cheap imported light beer.
‘Go save us a spot in the line for the beer tickets,’ Dan said urgently. ‘Even though we’re staff we still only get three tickets each, and that Golden Spray wears off fast.’
‘Golden Spray?’ Rose said, barely hiding her disgust.
‘Yeah, they make it especially for Grand Prix winners,’ Dan said.
‘But don’t they use champagne …?’ Rose said, but Dan was at the hotplate, trying to grab as many sausages as he could while Thor was distracted taking selfies with a large, excitable male fan. With a shrug she turned and walked over to the beer fridge, where a queue was already snaking away.
‘Hey guys,’ she said, ‘I work here so …’
‘Oh, you work here,’ said one of the grips. ‘That’s different – two tickets for you.’
‘Only two?’
‘One ticket!’
‘I’m leaving!’
Free drinks were meant to be one of the perks of the job. She’d all but been promised a party with her co-workers, but it was vanishing before her eyes. Standing around on the dock with a bunch of strangers was hardly Rose’s idea of a fun Sunday. She wondered if it was even worth sticking around. If she went home now, perhaps she could head down to the pub later on …
But then the man behind her in the queue slid in to stand beside her. ‘Three tickets for me, and three for the lovely young lady here.’
‘Sure thing, Mr Barker,’ said the previously sassy grip, handing over the tickets. Leary Barker gave three to Rose.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
‘Not a problem,’ he said. ‘Always happy to bump into an attractive young woman. And you look like a woman who’s good with her hands.’ He laughed, holding up his own hands in mock surrender.
‘Yeah, I get that a lot,’ Rose joked.
‘Leary Barker,’ he said. ‘Executive Producer, Endeavour Productions.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ Rose said, her confusion showing. ‘We met on the set of Mansions in the Sky earlier this week. I’m Rose, I’ve just started working here.’
A look of panic bloomed on Leary’s face. ‘I’m not gonna get Me-Too’ed! Not again!’
Rose had definitely heard this before. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
Leary laughed nervously, keeping his hands in the air and beginning to edge away from Rose. ‘I mean, I’m all about we two … not that other thing I said.’ A look of relief came over his face. ‘Yes, I’m sure we two will get along fine, in a totally appropriate way! That’s what I said – we two!’
Rose was still puzzling over what had just happened when there was a crackling sound of feedback from the PA system. ‘Attention! Could everyone please move to the viewing platform. Take your food and drinks with you. Filming starts in ten minutes.’
The sausages and beer seemed to have channelled the spectators’ feral energy into a more manageable kind of enthusiasm. They began to head for the platform as if they were already familiar with the routine. Rose was still standing at the beer table, unsure whether she should join them, when she saw Dan waving to her from the front row.
‘They like to have us up the front so they can get our reactions when the boat sinks,’ he explained as Rose edged in beside him. ‘Sad faces make for good television.’ That wasn’t going to be a problem for Rose; this whole day had been one big sad-face.
From here, she had a view straight onto the dock, where the eight boats bobbed and swayed. Several small camera crews in headsets – a camera operator plus a sound recordist – were stationed at different spots along the pier. Rose’s gaze followed the tracks of cable, strapped down with gaffer tape, back into the shed, where she knew there was a bank of monitors. Bernie and the other producers would be directing the shoot from inside.
Thor appeared on the pier with a microphone. ‘Hallo!’ he bellowed. The crowd cheered, and the super-fans waved their banners enthusiastically.
‘Are you ready to Dock?’ Thor shouted. Rose groaned inwardly, but the crowd loved it, laughing and clapping.
‘I said – are you ready to Dock?!’ The crowd roared in reply.
Some of the super-fans started a familiar-sounding chant, stomping their feet and clapping. Stamp-stamp CLAP! Stamp-stamp CLAP! The rest of the spectators quickly caught on, stamping, clapping and joining in the song: ‘We will, we will Dock you!’
Thor held up a hand for silence. ‘I am Thor Thorsson, son of the sea and host of The Dock!’ he said. ‘Today, eight boats become seven, as we witness this season’s first sinking. One team’s hopes will be dashed on the rocks beneath our feet, as the other contestants sail on towards victory! But first, let us meet our contestants!’
Pair by pair, Thor invited each team to stand beside him on the pier. Rose had thought they looked polished on ordinary shooting days, but today they practically sparkled. Their hair was even more glossy, voluminous and carefully tousled than usual. The female contestants’ faces were masks of heavy make-up, and both the men and women were dusted with bronzer and powder.
All the contestants were wearing nautically themed outfits. One couple were dressed like old-timey sailors, in white bell-bottoms, blue neckerchiefs, and dixie-cup hats worn at a jaunty angle. Another were wearing Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses and peaked captain’s hats. There were lots of striped shirts, epaulettes and gold braid. One team was even rigged out like Napoleon in coats, breeches, boots and cocked hats. Guess they’re saving the pirate gear for later in the season, Rose thought.
Thor announced each team’s names to much applause, then asked them a few questions – were they nervous? Were they ready? Were they happy with the progress on their boat? What was best in life?
‘To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women!’ shouted a few super-fans before the contestant even had his mouth open.
After each team had answered the questions, they went to stand by their boat, waving to the crowd as they left. As Thor turned back to the audience, a diminutive production assistant in a lanyard and headset came to stand beside him.
‘This is … Katie!’ Thor bellowed, as if introducing a Norse goddess. Katie gave a small, polite smile. ‘She will take you through the process of today’s filming.’
‘Hi guys,’ Katie said, ‘Before we begin, a few quick house rules. If you could be quiet while we’re filming over by the boats, that would be great. Whenever I go like this’ – she drew an emphatic horizontal line in the air with both hands – ‘I need you to stop making a sound. But when I go like