Until Death by Ali Knight

manner. Then he turned around suddenly and the transformation was profound. From a grinning, happy face to a grotesque, angry tyrant in less than a second.
    ‘I’ve used reflective white paint here and here.’ Kelly pointed to the cheeks and parts of the brow.
    ‘It’s lovely, really lovely,’ Jason said. ‘Move your head more, Salvatore. Is there too much movement?’
    Kelly nodded. ‘I can build it up more at the back of the neck so it’s more solid. It’ll make it more comfortable too, and I’m going to line it.’
    ‘We need to be able to pull the masks upwards and away.’ Jason threw his hands in the air above his head. ‘It’s a change of scene direction.’
    Kelly considered this. ‘I could put magnets on the top. Industrial grade are very strong yet small and light …’ She tailed off as Jason groaned and closed his eyes, running a hand through his thick hair. ‘You still getting your headaches?’
    He nodded. ‘I’m fine and then bam, suddenly it arrives. I’ve tried all the usual treatments, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, cranio-whatever. Something’s misaligned.’ He shook his head.
    ‘Is that even a word?’
    ‘It feels like a word and it suits my problem.’ He gave a sigh. ‘I’m getting so desperate I’m trying a new treatment on Salvatore’s recommendation. You film yourself sleeping. You attach a small fitting like a light bulb to your light in the ceiling in your bedroom, say. It’s motion-sensitive, so it films you as you sleep, gives you an idea what’s going on in the dark hours. If you move too much in your sleep, if you are always on one side, that type of thing. You can interpret whether you’re disturbed subconsciously, apparently. I might be sleep-banging my head against the headboard all night for all I know.’
    ‘That’d give you a headache.’
    ‘Quite.’
    ‘And what have you found?’
    ‘Nothing unusual so far. You need to do it for a week at least to get a good idea.’
    ‘It’s fascinating,’ enthused Salvatore. ‘I’ve spent hours with it. I realise that I love looking at myself. I’m vainer than I thought.’
    ‘You’re not vainer than I thought,’ Jason added. They laughed easily. ‘I’m desperate so I’ll try anything.’ He looked at Kelly. ‘The Sleepchecker camera. I recommend it.’
    The door to the studio opened and Medea came in bearing a tray with teas on it. She had added Greek pastries as well. Jason came forward and got all interested in them. ‘Did you cook these?’ He made Medea describe what was in them and listened intently to her replies, leaving Kelly desperately wishing he would ignore her. He was being too polite, he would make too much of an impression, Medea would begin to wonder why. If Medea was in the flat on the rare times she had visitors, she would offer drinks and food, her generosity a cover for her spying. She would report back to Christos later, but Kelly would take her comforts where she could. She was acutely aware that Christos could stop her working whenever he pleased. Finally Medea left with the tray and she relaxed a bit.
    ‘I can have the masks finished this weekend, magnets included.’
    ‘They’re not needed until next week. Why not bring them in on Tuesday? That’s the day the PR department wants to do a supplement to the programme with the “behind-the-scenes squirrellers”, so to speak. You get a nice photoshoot.’
    ‘Oh.’ Kelly looked embarrassed. ‘I’m terrible with pictures, I really hate them, you know. It’s just not for me.’
    Jason stared at her, unconvinced. ‘Oh, I don’t know, I think you’d brush up well.’
    She felt herself flush. He had this way of dishing out compliments that made her feel good, which made the tired and untended cells of her body crave for more. And that made her hate him.
    ‘Take the credit, you deserve it. There’ll probably be cheap white wine, you know the drill.’
    Kelly stood firm. ‘I’m sorry, Jason. I’ll email through a biog, but I