Episode 25 Paya
“Going once. Going twice…” Steph slams her mallet against the table. “Sold to Beya!” From behind the wooden bar, Steph hands Beya, her one hundred dollar boba tea that she happily dances away with.
I peer around at everyone sitting on the benches during today’s reward challenge.
The auction. To my right, Celeste is busy chewing her bacon cheese burger and fries.
Saffron is holding a vegetable tray that no one else bid for.
Lex spent all of her cash on three cookies and a four-ounce steak after bidding on a mystery item that turned out to be a coconut.
Steph unearths another covered silver platter. “Next is a mystery item. Bid at your own risk.” Steph scans the group. “I see a couple of you holding onto your cash. But, your competition is eating. You are not. And the auction is almost over.”
I peer down toward my money in my pouch and reconsider waiting as long as I have to bid on something.
Arlie casually lifts her hand first. “Two-hundred dollars.”
Celeste, mid-bite throws a bid in. “Two-fifty.”
“Two-seventy-five,” I call out my first bid of the game and wink, making her laugh.
Arlie counters. “Four-hundred.”
Silence.
A minute later, Arlie approaches the table to retrieve her bid.
I lean on the edge of my seat eager to find out what she won. Steph yanks the lid off.
Everyone gasps, grimaces on our faces. Except for deadpan Arlie and, of course, Steph.
“A fat, meaty grub!” Steph cackles at our gagging reactions. “Here’s the deal, Arlie. If you finish eating this grub in thirty-seconds, you’ll win—” Steph pauses, smiling for the cameras. “A cookout, prepared by yours truly. For the entire team. There’s more. You each will get…letters from family.”
I gasp, my hand covering my mouth. This late in the game, a hot meal and letters from family is exactly the motivation that will get me to the finish line.
I take a closer look at Arlie. Beya hasn’t left her side in days, even after the medic cleared her to continue playing. They’ve been inseparable since, but is she feeling well enough to eat a bug in thirty seconds?
Arlie offers a curt nod, accepting the challenge.
Through the hollering and encouragement, Steph yells a count down. “In three…two…one—”
Before Steph finishes speaking, Arlie plops the largest grub I’ve ever seen into her mouth and swallows it without flinching. Not saying a word, she turns and walks back to her seat. That answers my question.
We explode with cheers. That had to have been a new record.
“Just like my cat Jester.” Beya claps, straw from her empty boba tea dangling from her lips. She wipes her eyes like a proud spouse. “That’s my woman.”
Steph squeezes the brim of her baseball hat, facial expression a blend of horror and amazement. A speechless Steph Rhodes is an image worth a million dollars alone.
Steph shakes her head and huffs a laugh.
“Wow. Did she even chew? That was—well, alright!” She blinks.
“Congratulations, you won your team letters and a cookout on me this afternoon. I’m a master behind the grill, if I don’t say so myself.
More on that later. We’re running out of time on the auction. ”
Time passes and more bids fly through the air. Celeste won a covered item and melted when she discovered not something disgusting to force down, but fried chicken on top of rice and gravy. Saffron triumphantly outbid Beya for a pitcher of freshly squeezed lemonade.
Another mystery item hits the bar top. This one is hidden inside a giant metal silver platter the size of a turkey roaster. I wet my lips and squint with determination. Whatever is underneath that lid must be delicious. I hope so, anyway. Regardless, it’s my time to strike. I push up my sleeves.
“This one starts at two-hundred.” Steph begins the round.
Next thing I know, I’m in a bidding war with Saffron and Beya. I’m not losing the possibility to win what appears to be a Thanksgiving meal or, better yet, a possible advantage for the game.
“Two hundred and twenty-five dollars,” Beya calls out.
“Three-twenty-five.” Saffron bids.
I jolt my hand up toward the sky, holding my pouch of money, bidding every single dollar I have. “Five hundred!”
All eyes shift to me.
“Damn.” Saffron gives me a look, playfully swatting my arm. “Enjoy your feast or whatever.”
“Going once. Going twice—everyone else is broke so…sold to Paya! Come see what you got.”
I’m optimistic that my prize isn’t a nothing-burger. A grin plastered on my face, I stand, carefully wade through the others sitting and approach the wooden bar.
“Let’s see if it’s worth the money.” Steph pauses, her grip tight around the handle. I’m holding my breath, heart racing. She lifts the lid. “You won…a vintage-style polaroid camera and all the fixins.”
My face falls, my mouth slightly ajar. The camera is tiny at the center compared to the massive silver plate.
I’m fighting to hide my disappointment of spending all of my cash on a plastic camera, case and an eight-pack of film.
I knew I should’ve bid on the Pad See Ew and the Thai tea.
At least there’s a cookout later. Still, I exhale with slumped shoulders.
“How about a family photo?” Steph shrugs with a sympathetic smile and inches the silver tray closer.
“That’s a good idea.” I force myself to grin and be appreciative, trying to make the best of my prize.
Raising the camera to my face, I focus on the women who have forever changed my life in only twenty-one days.
Especially Celeste. She’s displaying her camera perfect laugh at something Beya just said to the group.
I take her in for a moment. Somewhere between day one and today, Celeste has been the first person I think about when I wake up and the last person I want to see go home.
A laugh falls from my lips at the silly faces they’re already making at the lens. The button clicks and a small square spits out of the slot.
Thirty seconds pass and the photo slowly brightens in my hand.
My heart warms as faces begin to form on the tiny square with minimal interference from the sun.
Suddenly, all the disappointment from my purchase washes away.
Although we’re surrounded by cameras, this perfectly imperfect picture is worth so much more than a thousand words. “Turned out pretty nice, Steph.”
“That’s great,” Steph responds from behind me. “But you’re missing someone.”
Confused, I whip around. “Who—”
My eyes go wide. “Grandma GG?!”
* * *
The smell of caramelized sugar, cinnamon-dusted pineapple and smoked meat and vegetables drifts over camp, making my head spin. Almost as much as seeing grandma GG.
“This island air smells like heaven. I would’ve had to pry Bev off this land.”
Saffron and her mother take a big whiff in, then release an obnoxious laugh. They even have the same smile. Saffron was more than pleasantly surprised.
Steph’s behind the charcoal grill her usual baseball cap, replaced with a large white chef hat.
I haven’t let go of hugging grandma GG since we sat down.
Ollie approaches. It’s my turn for another confessional interview. I excuse myself.
“Don’t worry about me.” Grandma GG waves me off. “I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. Now go, before I start telling everyone your poker secrets.”
I peck her cheek and climb to my feet. “I’ll only be a minute.”
As soon as I round the corner and am out of sight, I hear something.
“Pstt. Paya.”
Did someone say my name? I glance around and Misty moves the large leaf branch from in front of her face.
I shake my head, getting ahead of whatever Claudia wants me to do next. “No more hiding camp tools, please. That was my worst acting performance yet.”
“No. That’s not why I’m here.” She brushes off her tan pants. “We need to discuss your exit.”
I freeze mid-step. Then I remember where I am in the game.
“Your soft exit. You were always slated to leave at top six. We have the storyline mapped out. The next challenge is an endurance challenge. You get injured, you go gracefully, fans love you, no one ever knows you were a plant.”
I don’t say anything.
“Paya?”
“What about Celeste?” The question slips out before I can stop it. “If I leave, she goes home too. Right? The partnership rule.”
Misty’s expression shifts. “Yes. She would be eliminated.”
“Can you change the rules?”
“Paya. You know I can’t.”
I look down at my feet. “Then I’m not leaving.” How could I?
Misty’s eyebrows lift. “What?”
“I’m playing the rest of the game. I’m not taking the soft exit.”
She studies me for a long moment.“Claudia really isn’t going to like that.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “I know.”
“She might try to pull your compensation. You could end up walking out of here with no industry contacts, no opportunities. Nothing.”
Getting back into acting is the reason I signed up for the show in the first place. Now, Misty is delivering this news.
She taps her pen against her chin in thought. A small, knowing smile pulls at the corner of her mouth. “You fell in love with your boss didn’t you?”
I huff a laugh. “That obvious?”
“On and off camera.”
“You know…” her voice trails off. “My aunt seems to only like to hear what she wants. I can try, but let me see what I can do.”
“That’s all I ask. Thank you.”
We stand there for a second, neither of us speaking.
“Can I ask you something?” Misty’s voice softens. She is not looking at me anymore. She is looking at the trees.
“Yeah.”
“How did you all know? Who you were?” She lifts her clipboard, then lowers it again. “I’ve been watching this whole show. The femme side. The masc side. The partnerships. The way you all just…fit. And I keep waiting to see myself in it. Somewhere. And I don’t.”
I do not interrupt.
“I’m not femme. I’m not masc. I don’t even know what I am. If I tried to walk onto this island wearing one of those wraps, I genuinely wouldn’t know which color to grab. I don’t belong on either team.”
I think about what Steph said at the merge feast.
“You’re on Team Sapphic.” I give her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to know. I didn’t figure out I was bi until I was around your age. You don’t need to fit in a box to belong somewhere. At the end of the day, we’re all Team Sapphic. That includes you, Misty.”
Misty does not respond right away. “Thanks, Paya.”
“Anytime.” She nods once, like she is filing something away. Then she lifts her clipboard back up, professional again.
“Well. Good luck out there. I’ll let you get back to your family.
“Hey Misty.” She finishes her notes and faces me. “Can you do me one more favor?”
She nods.
“Do you know how to make pineapple upside down cake?”
Her brows pulled together. “I…probably could figure it out. Why?”
My lips curl into a smile.