Episode 7 Paya
It’s dusk, and I’m sitting on a log staring at the camera for my confessional interview.
Play the part. Stick the landing. I resurrect my dormant TV voice back to life and speak at the lens.
After a few enthusiastic lines about how great my team is doing, Ollie flashes a thumbs up and lowers the camera.
Misty approaches, binder tucked close to her chest.
“You’re doing great a week in. Keep up the nice work.” She waits until the boom mic operator is at a safe distance, then leans in as if telling me a secret. “There’s some type of rift brewing between Jeida and Blair.”
“There is?” I think for a moment. Nothing comes to mind, only the occasional irritable response which I’d summed up to hunger pangs, relentless heat, and the expected friction of being forced into close quarters with people you hardly know. “What makes you think that?”
“Confessional interviews. Blair all but said she wants Jeida gone. Something happened between them.”
“I don’t see that at all, but even if I did. So what if they don’t like each other?” I compress my lips. “Why are you telling me this?”
She waves her hand in the air at my question. “Details don’t matter. There’s an opportunity here. We need you to exploit it. Claudia wants to speed Jeida’s process up a little bit.”
What? Ruin my own team’s great chemistry? A dull weight drops straight in my stomach. “You’re saying what? You want me to manipulate the situation? Jeida’s been nothing but nice to me. Although we’re winning challenges, we all are struggling to some degree. Can’t you tell Claudia no?”
I can see Misty’s mental gears turning as she thinks. “Perhaps it’s cruel, but Claudia wants psychological warfare. That’s why you’re here.”
Like there isn’t enough happening in this game already. I rub my temples. “Is that what you truly believe will get good ratings?”
She frowns. “Aunt Claudia says my opinion doesn’t matter. I’m only a field assistant.”
A twinge of sadness tugs at my chest. “That’s not true, Misty.
Besides, you might be a field assistant now, but you’ll be so much more in the future.
” For a moment, I see a flash of my younger self.
Brilliant, hardworking, yet unable to see her own worth.
I run my fingers through my hair, brushing a piece of leaf from the ends. Do I really have a choice?
I exhale a sharp breath through my nostrils in resignation. “Fine. I’ll do it.” I pause. “But I want more alone time with Celeste. Off camera.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it when my arched brow tells her I’m serious. She taps her pen against her chin, working her thoughts out loud. “You need more time off camera…to deepen your bond with Celeste, because she is your bridge to the other team in case you two make it to a merge.”
“Exactly.” Whatever you need to tell Claudia. Of course it has nothing to do with Celeste’s lips.
“That’s good.” Misty grins, nods seemingly satisfied with our conversation. She jots down notes in her binder and looks up. “Don’t worry, there’s a game changing twist coming soon.”
“So there will be a merge this season?”
“Maybe.” She offers a quick smile, then scribbles in her notebook. “I’m not authorized to disclose that information.”
I pause to think about the pivotal milestone in the game. If we merge, the two teams become one, and Celeste and I will be on the same team. The game shifts from team challenges to individual challenges. Eventually I’d have to vote her out before she’d vote me out.
I stand up from the log and brush my legs off, my mind spinning with a mix of guilt.
All I wanted to do today was enjoy pizza, comfort items and the bathing suit set we won from yesterday’s reward challenge, to eat something besides coconut and bland, unseasoned beans.
Not jeopardize anyone’s game. Instead of racking my brain on Claudia’s demands, I return to camp and crawl into a double wide hammock and cocoon my body in a throw blanket.
By midmorning and little sleep, I join the others sitting by the fire. Whatever rift Misty had mentioned appears to be cured by cold pizza and garlic knots for breakfast.
Jeida dips a ball of garlicky bread into the leftover marinara sauce, eyes closed in pure reverence. “These are so good. I wonder how many garlic knots a million dollars can buy.”
Saffron teases her. “Is that your reason for competing on the gameshow? No judgement here.”
Jeida laughs and passes a serving on a leaf to me and Arlie. “You caught me. Forty-one years old, wooing women with a lifetime of Chicago’s greatest pizza and wings. That’s my dream. What about you all?” Her eyes drift in my direction first.
I say the lines I’ve been rehearsing for since day one on the boat.
“My grandma GG and her late wife loved The Final Summit. They watched every episode together. After her wife passed, my grandma kept watching alone, so I started joining her. Being on the show feels like a way to honor them both.” That’s technically not a lie.
Jeida’s hand goes to her heart. “Were you a grandma’s girl growing up? My Pop Pop and I had a dance and everything.”
I shake my head. “Grandma GG is actually my on-stage grandmother from my acting days.”
Blair walks over from the far side of camp and squints. “Wait. I thought you looked familiar.”
“Me? We haven’t met before.” My stomach twists as I reach for another slice of pizza.
She studies me for a long moment. “No, seriously. I swear I’ve seen your face before.” She tilts her head. “Weren’t you on a TV show or something?”
“That was a long time ago. Paya’s Playhouse.”
Saffron’s face lights up. “Oh my god. I see it now. Your hair was shorter back then. The show with the papaya trees and you had that sidekick girl. I can’t remember her name. I made that show my entire personality as a kid.”
“That’s the one.” Confirming, I flash a weak smile. I never did like the taste of papayas.
Blair adjusts the large bow at the top of her head, the fabric of her red wrap meticulously folded and flared out to look like an oversized hair bow. Her eyes turn concerned, voice soft and sweet. “What happened to the show? You just disappeared.”
“Life…” My words trail off. I point my gaze toward the ground, my lips forming into a frown. “I’m not in the industry anymore.” I change the subject before anyone inquires further. “What about you, Arlie?”
Arlie nibbles a garlic knot off the tip of the knife in her hand. “This was the closest thing to my old job.”
“What did you do before firefighting?” I ask, genuinely curious.
She doesn’t flinch. “Bounty hunter.”
We freeze, our slack-jaw expressions not phasing Arlie in the slightest.
I study Arlie for a moment. Her obsession with knives. The staring. Leather jacket and boots. “Oh…” Finally spills out of my mouth.
Saffron speaks up, mouth full of pizza and says what we’re all probably thinking. “I’m glad you’re on my team, then.”
We burst with laughter. Note to self, don’t write Arlie’s name down. I’d like to see my family again.
Saffron taps her fourth slice of vegan pizza against Raina’s as if they’re toasting.
Eventually, we get up to start chores around camp. I volunteer to join Blair, Saffron and Jeida on shelter duty. Mostly to investigate. From a distance, I watch Jeida eyeing Blair intently. She scoffs, shaking her head, muttering words I can’t make out.
I follow the steady thwack of a machete and point my attention to Blair.
Every few minutes, she drops the blade, pauses, and uses her foot to sweep the ground.
She bends low, peering directly into the hollow of a tree, her fingers brushing along the bark before she snaps back up and takes another hurried, aggressive swing.
Clearly, she’s hunting for a relic. She isn’t even trying to hide it. Subtle. Real subtle.
I’d been collecting palm fronds and bamboo for well over an hour when Saffron wanders over in Raina’s shirt and captain’s hat.
“Walk with me.” She hooks her arm in mine. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”
“That clothes are comfortable after all?” I tease, dropping off the pile of palm fronds I gathered.
She gives me a playful shove. “After taking everyone’s concerns for my safety into consideration, I only get naked for hot yoga now. Thailand heat edition. And mostly in the evening.”
“Uh huh.” I chuckle, then we travel deeper into the thicker portion of the island even further away from camp.
“So…All this flirting with Raina has been a strategy. She’s plenty easy on the eyes, fun, and—”
“Easy to manipulate?”
“Honey, I’m a Scorpio Moon. Almost everyone is to me.” She smiles. “Luckily, I only use my powers for good. Like getting you and me to the top five. Is there anyone you’d like to charm on our team?”
I open my mouth to decline when a sudden memory of Celeste’s lips close to mine right before she pulled away. Our almost kiss has been occupying an ungodly amount of real estate in my head. I chew my bottom lip. “I was thinking something a little more long term.”
Saffron pauses. Looks up, wiping a streak of dirt across her forehead. “Define long-term.”
“Past the merge. If I’m going to spend my time getting close to someone, I want it to be a person who actually opens a door for us. Not just cover at camp. Someone who brings something in. From the other side.”
She seems convinced enough. “You have someone in mind?”
Oh, do I. If only she knew that I’ve had someone in mind since Day One. “Celeste from Team Masc.”
Saffron’s eyebrow goes up. “The hot stoic one with the locs? Where’s that come from?”
“We had a moment on Outcast Isle.” I casually glance around at the camera person nearby, then toward the ground to check for a relic, forcing a neutral tone into my voice to mask the heat in my cheeks. “I don’t hate flirting with her.”
She’s quiet for a moment as she thinks, grinning at the ground, her eyes bright with the thrill of the ‘plot’ portion of the game. “I got Raina. You get close to Celeste. We end up at the merge with a bridge already drawn on the other side.”
“That’s the play.”
“I love it. We need to strengthen our voting numbers. Can we bring Arlie in on our alliance? I like her bluntness a lot. Plus, she’s kind of intimidating and I’d rather not be on the receiving end.”
“Sure.” I laugh, indifferent. I’m supposed to be calculating strategic moves, yet Celeste is the only variable I can focus on. I look up, realizing this is the furthest I’ve been from camp. “We should get back before everyone wonders where we went.”
We’re walking back when something big rustles the brush ahead. I freeze, holding my breath, remembering we’re on an island full of wild animals that could kill us.
I swallow. “You don’t think there are any bears on this island do you?”
“No,” she whispers. “But there are wild boars.”
My eyes fly open at the sounds of twigs snapping. Oh no.
Instead of a tusked beast charging full steam ahead, a small, ragged brown chicken with bright red feathers on its head waddles out. The bird stops, tilts its head at us, and lets out a soft cluck.
We stare at it in silence.
“Oh my god.” Saffron’s voice jumps an octave.
She drops her canvas bag full of foraged items and drops to her knees in the dirt and extends both hands toward the bird.
Her tongue clicks in a fast, rhythmic pattern, trying to coax it toward her.
The bird doesn’t flinch. He takes two confident steps forward, flares his wings, and hops directly into her open palms. Settles against her chest like he belongs there.
I didn’t have Saffron being a chicken whisperer on my bingo card.
“He’s mine.” Saffron lifts him up. “Look at him. He’s perfect.”
I examine the bird with a dry, practical stare. “Saffron. We’re probably going to eat him.”
“His name is Cluck, not Nugget.” Saffron shoots me a glare, her voice turning dangerous. “If anyone touches a single feather on his beautiful head, they won’t make it to see the next Summit. That’s a promise.”
Cluck clucks on cue.
“See?” Saffron strokes his neck, all smiles again. “He knows his name.”
And I thought Arlie was the intimidating one.
A laugh forces its way up my throat at us scoring the biggest food find yet, only for it to end in the hands of a Vegan with a Vengeance.
Never mind how the chicken got here in the first place.
With Cluck in tow, we return to camp, Saffron already murmuring to him like an old friend, sharing camp gossip directly into his feathers while he rests in the crook of her arm.
The newest member of our alliance, even if he doesn’t have a vote. What could possibly come next?