Chapter 23
Heeding Alex’s advice, Rhonda and I sleep late the next morning.
It’s not like we have to worry about chores anymore.
In less than twelve hours, we’ll both be in the production camp, where the jury has been staying since they got voted out.
I’d be lying if I said the feeling wasn’t a little bittersweet.
Sure, I’m looking forward to having real food, a soft bed, and actual indoor plumbing again, but I’m surprised to find that part of me is actually going to miss living on the beach full-time.
Maybe I’ve just gotten used to it over the last month.
Or maybe the lack of sleep is really getting to me.
Once the producers verify that Rhonda and I are both awake, they begin preparations for what’s become a tradition for the final two: the last day feast. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to set up, even though there’s quite a spread, with eggs, bacon, bread, fruit, and, of course, champagne.
It all looks delicious, and I can honestly say I’ve never been more excited for breakfast in my life.
After everything’s ready and the camera crew has gotten some good shots of the food, Rhonda and I put a pan on the fire and start cooking the bacon and eggs, then pour ourselves drinks. “To you and me,” she says, holding up her glass. “I couldn’t have asked for a better final two partner.”
“Same to you,” I reply, grinning. “Did you ever think you’d be here?”
“Oh, I most certainly did. My momma always used to say that if you want somethin’, you gotta picture yourself gettin’ it.
I guess you’d call it visualizin’. Whenever I was feelin’ down, I’d imagine myself sittin’ at the finale, winnin’ the million dollars, until it felt like it was real.
So ain’t none of this a surprise to me.”
“I expected nothing less.” I give her shoulder a playful shove. “Does that mean you already know what you’re going to say to the jury tonight?”
“Nah, but I’m sure I’ll figure somethin’ out.” She gestures to the food. “In the meantime, I’m gonna eat. I don’t know about you, but I could use some calories to help me think.”
She’s got the right idea, so we tear into the bread and fruit while the rest cooks. It tastes amazing, and so do the eggs and bacon once they’re done frying. I don’t even bother to wait for them to cool down completely. Considering I’ve barely eaten in the last five days, I think I can be forgiven.
As soon as I’ve finished eating, Neema pulls me away for one last confessional. One thing I certainly won’t miss is being on camera all the time. It’s not fun wondering if every little thing I say or do will be broadcast to millions of people and make me look stupid.
Once I’m set up on the beach, the ocean sparkling behind me, Neema nods to the cameraman, waiting for him to give her the thumbs up before she turns to me. “First off,” she says, “congratulations on making it to the final two. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling good. And nervous, I guess. Tonight will probably be the most important night of my life, and I just hope I don’t mess up.”
“Do you think you have a chance to win?”
“I mean, I think I have a chance. How big a chance depends on what happens tonight. You can bet I’m going to do my best to make sure I walk away with the million dollars, though.”
“Do you think the jury will respect your gameplay?”
“I hope they’ll respect it. I think I’ve played a strong game, made the right moves, all that stuff. But I guess we’ll find out tonight.”
“Are there any jurors you’re worried won’t vote for you?”
I pause for a moment to think about it. “I guess I’m a little worried about Jenny and Ashraf not voting for me, since I didn’t get to know them very well. And Katie might hold a grudge against me for voting her out last night. But we’ll find out eventually, I guess.”
“Anyone you think is a definite vote for you?” Neema asks.
Once again, I don’t reply immediately; I need to be careful what I say here, for multiple reasons. “I really don’t know,” I finally say. “If I had to pick, I’d say Cole is probably the most likely to vote for me. Maybe Marina, too. But as I’ve said before, anything can happen.”
She asks a few more questions, but I answer on autopilot, my mind already thinking about tonight.
I know Rhonda said she expected to be here, but I most certainly didn’t.
Sure, I told myself that I had to win, that there was no other option, but I don’t know if I ever really believed I could pull it off.
But here I am, and it’s exhilarating to know that I’ll never be voted out.
At the same time, it’s incredibly nerve-wracking—what if I’ve come this far only to lose at the very end?
Second place may sound nice, but it might as well be last when it comes to paying off Arielle’s debt.
And yet, I’m a little surprised to realize that’s not the only reason my nerves are frayed right now.
However the final tribal council goes, once it’s over, I’ll finally have a chance to talk to Cole for the first time since he was voted out.
I still don’t know what’s going through his mind, and it’s driving me crazy.
If I’m lucky, everything is fine, and he’s just as excited as I am to continue our relationship, if you can call it that. And if I’m not lucky …
I shake my head minutely, hoping Neema doesn’t notice. I never thought it would be possible for me to win the million dollars and still walk away unsatisfied, but here we are. Only time will tell.
Rhonda and I walk into the tribal council set just after the sun sinks below the horizon, having said our goodbyes to the beach and the shelter.
The bittersweet feeling I had earlier intensified as we left camp a half-hour ago, but now it’s been replaced by anxiety.
This is it, the culmination of everything I’ve been building for the last thirty-three days.
Soon, I’ll get the chance to explain myself to the jury, and if things go right, I can finally do something for Arielle after she’s done so much for me. No pressure, right?
We take our seats across from Alex, who waits until we’re settled.
“We will now bring in the members of our jury,” he says.
“Jenny, Ashraf, Alina, Marina, Cole, Tamika, and Katie, voted out at the last tribal council.” The seven of them file in and take their seats, each with an appropriately sober expression befitting the gravity of the job they’re about to perform.
I do my best to ignore Cole. I’ll be able to talk to him in a few hours, and for now, I need to focus.
Once the jury is in position, Alex nods to us.
“Rhonda and Ryan, congratulations on making it this far,” he says.
“Soon, you’ll each make an opening statement, which will be your main chance to plead your case to the jury.
After that, each jury member will get a chance to make a statement or ask one or both of you a question about your individual games.
Finally, you’ll get a chance to make a closing statement.
” He turns to address the jury. “Jurors, for this tribal council, the power has shifted to you. At the end of the night, each of you will vote for the person you think deserves to win this game, so listen carefully and keep an open mind. Got it?” He waits for all of them to nod.
“Excellent. Then we’ll get started with opening statements. Ryan, you’re up first.”
I take a deep breath, then face the jury.
Here goes nothing. “We all know there’s a lot of luck in this game,” I say.
“Somebody slips in a challenge, or says the wrong thing at camp, and it changes the whole game. My strategy was to take those moments of luck, of opportunity, and turn them in my favor. When Alina and Juan swapped to Meru, and we weren’t sure if one of them had the hidden immunity idol, I was the one who came up with a plan to ensure one of them would go home.
When we merged and the tribes were even, it could have gone either way, but I made sure our alliance came out on top.
I worked hard to make sure I’d be sitting here at the end, and that’s why I deserve your vote to win. ”
Alex nods. “Rhonda, you’re up.”
Rhonda sits up straighter, a serious expression on her face.
“First of all, I wanna just thank y’all for hearin’ me out,” she says.
“A lot of y’all probably didn’t come out here to make friends, but I did.
” She pauses for emphasis. “I knew I was never gonna come in here and be a strategic genius or a physical threat. No, my strength is—and always has been—buildin’ relationships, buildin’ trust, with people, and if you dig down deep enough, that’s what this game is about.
That’s why I focused on gettin’ to know each and every one of you.
If I hurt you, know that it hurt me too.
I just did what I had to do to get to the end, and even if I’m not proud of all the backstabbin’ and lyin’ and deceivin’…
well, I guess it worked, and that’s what matters. ”
Alex waits for Rhonda to finish, then turns away from us. “Jurors: you’ve heard the opening statements. Now, it’s your turn to address the final two.” He points to the far end of the jury box. “Katie, you’re up first.”
Katie stands up and walks over to center of the set, facing Rhonda and me with a small smile on her face.
“First of all, congratulations to both of you,” she says.
“My first question is for Ryan.” She turns to look at me.
“Ryan, I know we discussed it a bit, but I want to hear it in your own words. Why did you choose to sit next to Rhonda tonight instead of me?”