Z on Location

Reboot

Z wakes early the next morning, ready to start fixing the mess she made of the trip. The only problem is that she can’t do her real work since she’s currently banned from the next shoot, but that’s never stopped her from tackling a challenge before. Nora is already up and sitting at the table. Z doesn’t waste time getting to the point. She apologizes for messing up the shoot the other day. Nora accepts it gently, admitting it’s disappointing that they lost the footage, but tells Z she doesn’t need to apologize to her, then offers to make her a mug of cocoa instead.

Z feels a rush of gratitude she knows she hasn’t earned, so instead of sitting down, she pitches in on breakfast, toasting English muffins and brewing Mom’s French vanilla coffee. While they work, Nora finally asks, for the first time all trip, why Z posted the photos in the first place. Z admits she’d thought Josh only meant no posting pictures online, not that she couldn’t share them with close friends and family, and yesterday had felt like her best shot at proving to her friends back home that she was having an awesome summer, too.

Nora understands better than Z expects, describing a college friend who traded Seattle for a semester in Edinburgh, Scotland, touring castles. The pictures look like she stepped straight into Hogwarts. Nora used to feel jealous of every photo, until she realized nobody posts their homesick, homework-buried days, only the highlight reel. A person can’t measure her own everyday against someone else’s highlight reel.

Determined to help however she can, Z volunteers to take over the equipment inventory since she can’t leave the RV anyway. Mom hands over the precheck clipboard, sounding a little warmer than the night before, and Z spends the morning double-checking lens caps, cables, and cleaning wipes before Mom and Nora head out to scout the next location. Mom leaves Z with a hand-drawn map to the parking spot and a spare phone set to emergency contacts only, promising a late lunch around 1:30 PM. Alone, Z tidies the common area, then digs into the thick binder Mom compiled on the documentary and its VidCon panel schedule, practices setting up the backup camera on its tripod, and pieces together a stop-motion storyboard to pass the time. By the time Mom and Nora return, Z has finished the full inventory and genuinely improved at the camera work. Mom looks over the clipboard, impressed with Z’s improvements.

Together, they drive the RV to the VidCon convention center. As they unload, Mom surprises Z by returning her real phone, text-only and no social media, after Z promises to behave. Nora adds that she’s noticed the change and wants to trust Z again.

Z immediately texts Becka, Gigi, and Mari to meet her at the east entrance. The reunion is loud and a little tearful, Mari barreling out first under a mountain of equipment, Becka and Gigi bursting out of an elevator with a squeal. The four of them haven’t all been together in person since they met at this very convention 364 days earlier.

Z introduces Nora, then admits to her friends that she’s not allowed to help with shoots anymore and will probably miss out on interviewing Winter Costello altogether. Becka immediately owns up to leaking the VR video online, insisting the whole disaster is her fault, but Z refuses to let her take all the blame.

Gigi confesses she got so distracted chasing the perfect post during a family trip to Stonehenge that she barely absorbed any of the history. Mari admits she’s been chasing the same #summeradventure hashtag challenge the whole time, too.

Once everyone’s aired their guilt, Becka has an idea: with too many panels, presentations, and interviews to catch at once, they can split into pairs, divide up the convention, and film different events to share with each other later. That way nobody has to miss the whole thing. Everyone agrees it’s a great plan, and Becka takes off toward the exhibit hall at full speed, daring the others to catch up.