Chapter Text
Claire Redfield had been staring at the red REC button on the camera screen for fifteen minutes.
There was nothing special about it. Just an ordinary red rectangle with a white dot indicating that the camera was recording. Claire had turned it on herself. She had set up the camera herself. She had checked the battery herself. She had moved the tripod a few centimeters to the left, then three centimeters to the right, and then back to the left because she decided the first position had actually been better.
She had bought the camera a few days earlier at a garage sale. It wasn’t new, the casing was slightly scratched, and the original box was missing, but the woman selling it had assured her that it worked perfectly. Claire had tested it on the spot, then spent most of her savings on it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to get started. And yet, she hadn’t said a single word for fifteen minutes.
She sat on the floor of her room, her back against the bed, her legs crossed in front of her. The camera stood opposite her on a small tripod. The frame showed part of the room, a desk, a bookshelf, a few pictures pinned to the wall, and a section of the bed. It looked good. At least in her opinion. The problem was that now she had to say something.
Claire took a deep breath.
“Hi.”
She fell silent.
She looked into the lens.
“No.”
She reached out and stopped the recording. She rested her forehead in her hand.
“That was awful.”
Chris’s voice came from behind the door.
“What was awful?”
Claire closed her eyes. Of course.
“Nothing!”
“Then why did you say it was awful?”
“Because I’m talking to myself!”
“Oh.”
There was a moment of silence.
Claire hoped that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.
“Is that normal?”
“What?”
“Talking to yourself.”
“Chris.”
“Yeah?”
“Go away.”
“Okay.”
Claire breathed a sigh of relief. Three seconds passed.
“Claire?”
“WHAT?”
The door opened slightly.
Chris peeked inside.
“Can I come in?”
Claire stared at him in disbelief.
“You’re already in.”
Chris glanced behind himself, as if checking whether he really was in her room.
“Actually, I am.”
He was wearing an ordinary T-shirt and jeans. His hair was slightly messy, as if he’d only just gotten off the couch, although Claire knew he’d been sitting in the living room for over an hour. He held a mug in one hand and his phone in the other.
He looked at the camera. Then at Claire. Then back at the camera.
“What are you doing?”
Claire was silent for a moment.
“Recording.”
“I can see that.”
“Then why did you ask?”
Chris shrugged.
“So I could know.”
“I’m recording my first video.”
Chris raised an eyebrow.
“What first video?”
Claire pointed at the camera.
“For YouTube.”
“You have a YouTube channel?”
“Not yet.”
“Then how are you recording for YouTube?”
Claire looked at him as if he’d just said something particularly stupid.
“First you have to record the video, Chris.”
“Oh.”
“Then you upload it.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And only then is it on YouTube.”
“Okay.”
Chris took a sip of his coffee.
“So what do I have to do with this?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay.”
He turned around and walked out.
Claire watched him for several seconds.
“Finally.”
She closed the door. She sat back down on the floor and pressed the record button. This time, she decided not to think.
“Hi! I’m Claire.”
Pause.
“And… I’m starting a channel.”
That sounded better. Not great. But better.
“I don’t really know exactly what I’m supposed to do here. I mean, I know, but… I don’t know how to say it.”
She stared at the camera for a moment.
“If you’re watching this, that means I actually managed to record the video.”
She smiled slightly.
“So I guess that’s good.”
This time, she didn’t stop the recording.
“I thought I’d upload different kinds of things. Maybe some vlogs, things from my everyday life, maybe challenges, maybe…”
She hesitated.
“My brother will probably be here sometimes too.”
Chris’s voice immediately came from behind the door.
“WHAT?”
Claire froze.
“Chris!”
“You said I had nothing to do with this!”
“You don’t!”
“Then why are you mentioning me?”
Claire turned toward the door.
“Because you’re my brother!”
“That doesn’t mean I want to be on the internet!”
Claire stared at the camera for a moment, then back at the door.
“You don’t have to be.”
“Okay.”
Silence.
Claire turned back to the camera.
“Like I was saying…”
The door opened.
Chris stood there with his mug in his hand.
“So what kind of camera is that?”
“Chris.”
“Just asking.”
“I already told you.”
“I know. But I hadn’t seen it up close before.”
Claire pointed at the tripod.
“It’s a camera.”
“I know what a camera is.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“I wanted to see it.”
Claire pressed her lips together. Chris walked into the room and crouched beside the camera.
“This one?”
“This one.”
“Expensive?”
“No.”
“How not?”
“I bought it at a garage sale.”
Chris looked at her.
“At a garage sale?”
“Yes.”
“And it works?”
“As you can see.”
“How did you know it would work?”
“I tested it before I bought it.”
“And what if it stops working?”
“Then I’ll worry about it.”
Chris examined the camera closely.
“Looks old.”
“It’s not old. It’s just not the newest.”
“There’s a scratch.”
“I know.”
“And there’s tape on the side.”
Claire glanced at the piece of black tape stuck to the casing.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure.”
He touched the tripod.
Claire immediately jumped to her feet.
“Don’t touch it!”
Chris pulled his hand back.
“Okay.”
“You’ll move it.”
“I only touched it.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay.”
Claire adjusted the tripod, even though it had barely moved. Chris watched her for a moment.
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
“You are.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Claire.”
“What?”
“Your ears are red.”
Claire immediately covered them with her hands.
“They are not.”
Chris smiled to himself.
“They are.”
“Get out.”
“Sure.”
This time, he actually left.
Claire closed the door and leaned back against it. She closed her eyes. This was supposed to be a simple video. Simple. A few sentences to the camera. Then editing. Music. Some kind of title. Done. So why was everything so difficult?
Maybe because this was the first time she was going to say something to people she didn’t even know. Potentially hundreds of people. Maybe thousands. Maybe someone would laugh. Maybe someone would write that she was stupid. Maybe someone would say she didn’t know how to talk.
Claire shook her head.
“Stop.”
She went back in front of the camera. This time, she sat on the chair. She took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
Click.
Recording.
“Hi. I’m Claire Redfield.”
This time, she didn’t stop.
“I’m fifteen, and… I guess I’m starting a YouTube channel.”
She smiled nervously.
“I don’t know how often I’ll upload videos yet. I don’t even know if anyone will want to watch them, but I thought I’d give it a try.”
Her voice slowly stopped shaking.
“I like taking pictures, I draw sometimes, I ride my bike sometimes, and I generally like a lot of different things. I’ll probably mostly show my everyday life here.”
She glanced to the side.
“And… my brother will probably show up here too.”
A quiet voice came from behind the camera.
“I said I wouldn’t.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Chris.”
“What?”
“I’m recording.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you talking?”
“Because you mentioned me.”
Claire was silent for a moment.
“Get out.”
“Okay.”
The door closed.
Claire looked at the camera.
“As you can see, this is going to be difficult.”
This time, she actually laughed. She recorded for a few more minutes.
She talked about why she wanted to start a channel. She said she didn’t have a specific plan yet. Maybe she’d make vlogs, maybe some challenges, maybe answer questions. At some point, she started speaking more freely. She no longer had to watch every single word.
Eventually, she looked at the clock.
“Okay. I think that’s enough.”
She reached for the camera. And then the door opened for the third time.
Chris walked in. This time, without asking.
“Finished?”
Claire sighed.
“Almost.”
“Can I see it?”
“See what?”
“The video.”
Claire frowned.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t edited it yet.”
“So?”
“I don’t want to.”
Chris shrugged.
“Okay.”
Claire looked at him suspiciously.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not going to ask?”
“No.”
“You’re not going to peek?”
“No.”
“You’re not going to try to…”
“Claire.”
“What?”
“I said no.”
The girl was silent for a moment.
“Okay.”
Chris sat down on her bed.
“So what now?”
“I’m editing.”
“How?”
“On the computer.”
“Do you need help?”
Claire looked at him.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“With editing?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t know how to edit.”
Chris shrugged.
“Neither do you.”
Claire opened her mouth. Then closed it.
“Actually…”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t mean you know how.”
“I didn’t say I did.”
Claire stared at him for a moment.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I think you can help me after all.”
Chris smiled.
“I knew you’d agree.”
“But you don’t touch anything without asking.”
“Okay.”
“And you don’t delete anything.”
“Okay.”
“And you don’t change the music.”
“Okay.”
“And you don’t…”
“Claire.”
“What?”
“I said okay.”
Ten minutes later, they were both sitting in front of the computer.
Claire went through the recordings. Chris sat beside her, staring at the screen with the expression of a man trying to understand an instruction manual written in a foreign language.
“This is good.” he said.
“What?”
“This.”
“That’s just the beginning.”
“Exactly.”
Claire skipped ahead. On the screen appeared a scene in which she sat silently for several seconds, staring straight into the camera.
Chris raised an eyebrow.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out what to say.”
“For thirty seconds?”
Claire grimaced.
“I know.”
“We can cut that.”
“I know.”
“Then cut it.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
Chris watched the screen.
“How?”
“Here.”
Click.
The segment disappeared.
Chris nodded.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
“I didn’t know it was that easy.”
Claire looked at him.
“What did you think?”
“That you needed to know some kind of code.”
“Code?”
“Yeah.”
“Chris, it’s video editing, not rocket science.”
“How was I supposed to know?”
Claire started laughing. Chris smiled slightly.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You.”
“Nice.”
“You started it.”
“True.”
They worked for another fifteen minutes or so. Finally, Claire leaned back from the computer.
“Done.”
Chris looked at the screen.
“So now you upload it?”
“Yeah.”
“And what happens next?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing?”
“We wait.”
“For what?”
“People.”
Chris frowned.
“What people?”
Claire looked at him.
“Viewers.”
“Oh.”
They were both silent for a moment.
“Do you think anyone will watch it?” Chris asked.
Claire shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Me neither.”
“Thanks for the support.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
Chris looked at her more carefully.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“It’ll be okay.”
Claire looked at the screen.
“How do you know?”
“I don’t.”
“Then why say it?”
Chris shrugged.
“Because sometimes you have to do something even if you don’t know whether it’ll work out.”
Claire smiled slightly.
“That was surprisingly wise.”
“I know.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“Too late.”
Claire clicked Publish. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The video was live. Just like that. The first video on her channel.
Claire stared at the screen.
“Okay.”
Chris glanced at her.
“Okay.”
“I just uploaded it.”
“I know.”
“That’s weird.”
“A little.”
Claire leaned back in her chair.
“Now anyone can see it.”
“Yeah.”
“Someone might leave a comment.”
“Yeah.”
“Someone might say I’m terrible.”
Chris looked at her.
“Someone might also say you’re great.”
Claire sighed.
“You’re not making me feel better.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know.”
Chris stood up.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“We’ll make something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I am.”
“Then make something yourself.”
“I don’t know how.”
Claire stared at him.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“You’re twenty-one.”
“So?”
“Nothing.”
Claire stood up.
“Come on.”
“I knew you’d agree.”
“Not because you’re hungry.”
“Sure.”
“I just want something to eat.”
“Sure.”
“Chris.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
They left the room. The camera was still sitting on the desk. The red recording light was no longer on. Claire’s first video was on the internet. It didn’t have any comments yet. It didn’t have many views. It wasn’t perfect.
In fact, Claire had stumbled over her words several times, completely lost her train of thought once, and at the beginning had simply stared into the lens for almost half a minute. But it was hers. And you had to start somewhere.