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Tess finished the article and put her phone away. She drifted outside, her heart racing as the noise of the crowd smacked her in the face. The flickering streetlights illuminated faces filled with determination. She couldn’t comprehend the scene unfolding before her—the community gathered in protest. It was a stark contrast to the glamour of the premiere inside.

Tess turned, realising she’d lost Zara somewhere. But then, a woman stepped forward from the crowd to meet her. It was Gloria, Tess’s best customer and biggest critic.

‘Tess! I’m sorry it took me so long to get everyone here. I’ve been trying to ring people, but my mobile is so fiddly it took forever. I think someone has put the buttons in the wrong order,’ Gloria said with dark suspicion.

‘Ring who? What?’ Tess asked, flummoxed.

‘Organisers. I haven’t been in union circles for a while, but I still know people. I think one of the younger ones twittered it out. I wouldn’t know about all that, but I can still hold a placard,’ Gloria told her.

‘You did this?’ Tess asked her.

‘I read the paper this morning,’ Gloria said. ‘I can’t remember the last time I was so angry.’

‘I can,’ Tess said, still reeling. ‘It was that time I gave you a medium popcorn instead of a small one.’

‘I’ve got dentures, Tess. You thought you were doing me a kindness, but that amount of popcorn pulled my teeth out!’

Tess couldn’t seem to catch up. ‘I thought you hated the place?’ she said.

‘What? I love the place. I wouldn’t keep coming back if I didn’t,’ Gloria said, annoyed. She straightened her placard and went back to the crowd.

Nina Clarke appeared next to her, shock etched on her features. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, though she practically had to shout to be heard above the chanting crowd, who were getting louder by the minute.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t plan this. I didn’t know,’ Tess said, struggling to catch her breath. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Know what?’ Nina asked, looking at the signs. Her expression shifted, horror dawning on her face. ‘Wait. Are they saying the cinema is in danger of being sold? You never mentioned that.’

‘I didn’t want to ruin your big night. But yes. I’m losing the place,’ Tess told her. She took out her phone and pulled up the article. ‘This about covers it,’ Tess said, handing it to Nina.

Nina took the phone and read, her frown deepening. ‘The fuck?!’ she yelled. She gave Tess the phone back. ‘Right!’ she declared and walked back into the cinema.

Tess wasn’t sure what to make of the reaction.

But a few minutes later, she came out with her cast and crew. ‘Come on!’ she yelled. ‘Let’s show these fuckers!’

Before Tess could respond, Nina strode into the throng of protesters, her presence commanding attention. ‘Everyone!’ she shouted, her voice cutting through the chants. ‘We cannot let this happen! We need independent cinemas!’

The crowd erupted into applause. It wasn’t just a protest anymore; it was a movement. The stars of the film began to join in, echoing Nina’s sentiments. Tess watched, stunned, as the press began to swarm, cameras flashing, reporters stepping forward to capture the moment.

Tess was stunned. She was further stunned when, little by little, everyone else at the premiere, with a few notable exceptions, drifted out, saw which way the wind was blowing, and also joined the protest. Jerry, Dylan and Simon had found their way out, too.

The numbers were now getting rather large. A few hundred people were now chanting together. ‘Save our screen! Save our screen!’

Tess turned to see the last few holdouts inside, looking out uncertainly. Among them was Deborah. She was standing just inside the entrance, visibly shaken by the unexpected turn of events. Tess had never seen her look like that. Not even the night of the big public row. The devil herself was worried.

Tess watched Phillip put an arm on her shoulder and say something into her ear. She didn’t move or acknowledge him. She was locked onto Tess, staring at her with murder in her eyes. Tess gave her a little wave.

Phillip seemed to decide he was gonna have to do more. He stepped out into the street. ‘This isn’t necessary! The press was misinformed,’ he shouted, but the crowd roared back, drowning out his voice.

Phillip cleared his throat, trying to gain some control. ‘Forcing this sale would be illegal. And we’re a bank. We don’t break the law!’

That got the crowd laughing for a moment before the protest intensified, the crowd growing ever louder. Cameras started flashing. Phillip fell back.

Then, through the crowd, Tess spotted Zara talking to Phillip. It was only for a second, and it was impossible to make out their words, but you couldn’t mistake the tone of the conversation.

Phillip knew what Zara had done, and he was ripping her a new arsehole.

Zara had acceptance in her eyes, as well as a total lack of surprise. She’d known this would happen. And she’d done it anyway.

Then the crowd closed the gap, and Tess could see no more.

Fi appeared. ‘This is so fucking cool!’ she screamed.

‘Yeah,’ Tess agreed.

‘Here,’ Fi said, handing her a placard.

‘Where did you get that?’

‘Hot protestor gave it to me,’ Fi shrugged.

‘You keep it,’ Tess said.

The protest was a beautiful, magnificent thing, and it meant a lot to Tess to know people cared about The Eclipse this much. But it wasn’t quite as important as getting Zara right now.

Tess pushed her way through the throng, her heart racing as she searched for Zara. The vibrant energy of the protest surged around her, people holding signs aloft, their voices rising in a collective roar.

Tess spotted Zara at last. She’d joined the protest, standing tall and resolute, the stars of the movie flanking her, all wearing expressions of fierce determination.

Zara turned her gaze toward Tess. She left the crowd and rushed to Tess. ‘Woah! This is crazy. The good kind,’ she said, happy.

‘Are you OK?’ Tess asked.

Zara kept smiling. ‘I’m fine.’

It was too loud. Tess pulled Zara to a pocket of quiet available in the din. ‘Really? Because it looked like you were just getting the sack,’ Tess said.

‘Well, yeah. I did,’ Zara admitted.

Tess was electrified with rage. ‘That fucker. That’s illegal, surely.’

‘Probably,’ Zara agreed. ‘But I’m not fighting it. I knew this would happen, and I’m OK with it. I don’t want to work there anyway. Not under that lot of corrupt bastards.’

Tess stared at her. ‘You didn’t need to do this. Going to the press. You could have just kept your head down.’

‘But I’d have been complicit in taking this place from you,’ Zara said emotionally.

Tess groaned. ‘That’s not true. I’ve told you that.’

‘You feel that way now. But if the buyout happens, you’ll resent me.’

‘I could never resent you,’ Tess said angrily. ‘You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’

Zara paused, blinking. ‘But I haven’t saved The Eclipse. Not yet,’ Zara said, confused.

‘You idiot. You saved me!’ Tess said, frustrated. She’d had a shot at this moment before and ruined it. She couldn’t get it wrong this time. This was it. Take two.

‘I love you,’ she told Zara.

Zara looked about as surprised as Tess had ever seen a person look. ‘You do?’

‘Yes, I do,’ Tess said emphatically.

‘It’s not your fault I got sacked. You don’t need to console me,’ Zara said, tears welling in her sparkly green eyes.

Tess couldn’t be angry about the way her declaration was being received. Zara doubted her, which was fair. She had every reason. Tess needed to try harder.

She pointed behind her at the cinema. ‘This place is important to me. It’s my past. But you made me hope for the future. And not one that revolves around The Eclipse. I’ve never had that. Never. I’ve always lived like the sheriff in Jaws at the end of the movie. The boat was sinking, the fucking shark was lurking, and all I could do was try to stay alive, keep climbing up that mast, firing off shots that don’t hit. But then I met you, and you killed the shark. And I could see the shore. And I started swimming for it.’

Zara looked confused. ‘The shark is Deborah, right?’

‘No, in this metaphor, the shark represents, umm, the shitty-ness of life, I think. Deborah’s not in it at all,’ Tess said briefly.

‘She’s not? But she’s a destructive force, just like the shark.’

‘Yeah, but she doesn’t matter enough to be in the metaphor. She’s floating debris at best,’ Tess told her.

‘But what am I in this? Because if you’re the sheriff, you blow up the shark yourself,’ Zara said.

‘No, or… Wait, yeah. You’re the gun? No. You’re the boat. No, that doesn’t work. Oh, for fuck’s sake, let’s throw this metaphor out. I love you, OK? I love you. I want to be with you. Whatever happens next. I lose this place or I don’t. Either way, I’ll deal with it. But I don’t want to lose you.’

‘I love you, too,’ Zara said, her voice cutting through the chaos, earnest and unwavering.

‘I know,’ Tess replied with a smile. Then she stopped smiling. ‘I can’t believe I just made another Star Wars reference,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘Shut up about movies,’ Zara said and kissed her.