Episode 2
It’s the afternoon and I’m still riding the high of our team winning the very first challenge.
Knowing I played a key role in securing the fire starter kit puts a permanent smile on my face.
Everyone’s cheering and laughing as the blazing sun stretches over us while we swim in the ocean, letting the sea wash away the exhaustion of the race.
Saffron splashes me, then sticks her tongue out at my fake offended expression. “The way you swam to the fire bowl was incredible. I was too busy trying to grab the chickens, but Team Masc beat me to it.”
“I was clutching my pearls. Literally.” Blair, a brunette in her posh one piece polka dot swimsuit and cat-eyed glasses, grips her pearl necklace tighter as she floats on her back.
“Hey, I’m just happy we walked away with the beans and fruit.” Jeida laughs, throwing her arms up as she catches a small wave. “We are starting day one fully stocked, and our shelter is halfway finished.”
“And we have the momentum,” Saffron adds, shaking the water out of her damp crimson curls. “Team Masc didn’t even know what hit them. They looked completely uncoordinated out there.”
“I’m just happy we won,” I reiterate, my cheeks twitching from smiling. Beneath the relief, my mind keeps looping back to the wooden platform. The look of utter shock on Celeste’s face and, to my surprise, a glimpse of delicious toned muscles that’s been hiding underneath her suits at work.
Ollie approaches from the treeline, a camera in one hand. They wave in my direction. “Hey Paya. Confessional interview time.”
“We should probably finish our shelter anyway before it gets dark,” Jeida states, wringing the saltwater from her tank top.
Arlie nods, her expression unreadable as she stares at the palm fronds we’ve gathered. “I’ll start a fire. I don’t need flint.”
I give them a tight nod and follow Ollie down the beach, appreciating the warm sand between my toes. Despite having unlimited PTO, I can’t remember the last time I took a stress-free vacation.
Misty is already waiting next to a giant, flat rock tucked away from my camp. How tightly she keeps her binder glued to her chest, one would think she’s carrying a relic inside. She gives me a professional, expectant greeting as Ollie adjusts the tripod.
Taking my fingers, I pinch the sides of the fabric of my wrap covering my torso and flatten the red creases. Camera facing me, I paste on my best TV smile.
“How did it feel to dive out of the canoe?” Ollie instructs from behind the lens. “Give me that moment.”
“It was incredible.” I project my voice the same way I was trained as a child. “I hate losing. When I hit that beach and lit the fire bowl, I wanted to show everyone that I’m here to play The Final Summit and a valuable member of Team Femme.”
Five minutes later, Ollie ends the session and changes their camera battery. I look around to make sure no other players are in the area and lower my voice. “Misty, I—um. Can I ask for a favor?”
“Hm?” Misty remains fixated on taking notes, so I increase my volume.
“I need to speak to Celeste. Can you help me do that, please?”
She halts her pen. “Celeste Ashford from Team Masc?” She frantically flips through her binder, landing on Celeste’s laminated profile page. “Why? Do you know each other?”
I’m tempted to ask to study Celeste’s page to figure out why my boss is on the same game show as me, but I don’t. Speaking to her directly is the more respectable option. I’m sure she’s more than curious why I’m here and not taking care of my bedridden grandmother.
I hesitate, rubbing the back of my neck. “Something like that.”
The look she’s giving me is saying to spill what I’m holding back. A tiny smirk plays on her lips. “Ex-girlfriend? Per my notes, she appears to be a burnt out entrepreneur looking to spice things up outside her seventy-hour work week. No wonder things didn’t work out between you.”
“What? No, we’re not—I just need five minutes with her to have a quick conversation. Off camera, if possible.”
She immediately shakes her head, her professional armor sliding back into place. “I don’t know if I can authorize that, Paya. I’m only a Field Assistant. Teams are kept strictly separate for a reason. It’s production’s rules, not mine. Unless Claudia changes something, of course.”
I think of something appealing for a moment.
Three days for a slim chance to speak with Celeste at an immunity challenge?
I need to get ahead of this now before she spends seventy-two hours plotting ways to fire me.
Grandma GG’s words echo in my mind, Everyone has a price, Paya.
The trick is figuring out which currency they’re taking: cash, compliments, or a damn good story to tell.
Misty seems eager to win Claudia’s approval.
“Look.” I usher Misty further away from Ollie, whose full attention is currently occupied by a bright orange bird nesting in a nearby palm tree.
“I have a secret that could be a problem if it got out—besides the producer plant one. Do you want information that Claudia would absolutely eat up? Because you’ll get all the credit for digging this up. ”
That gets Misty’s attention. She straightens, her eyes narrowing with interest. “I’m listening.”
I clear my throat, leaning in closer. I speak the truth slowly. “Celeste is my…boss. My actual, real-life corporate CEO. I’m her direct report.”
“That wasn’t in my notes.” Her eyes go wide, her jaw practically dropping onto her binder. “Wait. Wait. Wait. You lied to her, didn’t you?”
I nod miserably. “That’s why I need your help. If I don’t talk to her, she’s going to spend this entire game trying to incinerate, me and I really need my job.” Which isn’t a lie. It’s not like royalties from my acting days are rolling in.
Misty covers her mouth, a glint appearing in her eyes. “This is viewer gold. A trainwreck for you. Sorry. I have to tell Claudia.”
“And in exchange, I get five minutes with Celeste. Deal?”
“Five minutes max.” She thinks for a moment, glancing over her shoulder at the beach before exhaling in resignation. “Let me see what I can do. Maybe I can coordinate something around a routine medical checkup or a confessional interview. No promises though, Paya.”
I silently mouth, thank you when voices from the distance stretch behind me, signaling that the rest of Team Femme is moving closer down the beach. I turn around to face Misty again. She’s already gone.
* * *
The next morning, clanking sounds of pots and pans interrupt my dreams of plates chock-full of Grandma GG’s home cooking. I swat at the fly landing on my arm and remember I’m lying on the ground in a shelter made of large bamboo, rope, and muddy banana leaves.
I push myself up enough to lean on my elbows and peer out the entrance. A yawn falls from my mouth and I rub my eyes.
Why are Saffron’s bare breasts out as she stands in a warrior yoga pose?
I turn to Arlie, sitting next to me in the shelter. “Why is she naked?”
Arlie, who seems unbothered by all of this, cracks her neck, then continues sharpening the paring knife with a flat rock. She sets it down and slides a black boot onto her left foot. “She mentioned something about clothes feeling too restrictive to the soul.”
Why am I not surprised? “Clearly, Raina won’t be complaining.”
“I doubt it.”
Blair unbuttons her maroon cardigan and slips it off her tall, dainty frame. Smiling, she wiggles her toes, her fuzzy socks with birds on them. “Saffron insisted on loaning me her socks. I tried giving them back, but she refused. I guess I won’t complain either.”
Scanning around camp, almost everyone is wearing an article of Saffron’s clothes.
I don’t know what’s more shocking: that she’s walking around topless or that she’s braving having pierced nipples in the elements for forty-days.
Yesterday, the team thankfully decided that the door and roof reinforcement are today’s top tasks.
I look peer over at Jeida, sitting on a nearby log by herself in a yellow bikini that pops against her dark brown skin.
Lips pressed in a thin line, she tucks her red wrap tighter across the length of her abdomen, her brown eyes scanning the camp.
When she catches Blair giggling, she rolls her eyes, then looks away.
Raina yells for everyone’s attention, “Camp mail!”
Squeals erupt from our mouths and we flock around Raina holding the letter. Challenges are typically held every three days and given we’re a day early, I’m eager to know what’s in store for us. With a host like Steph Rhodes, every day is a surprise. Raina passes the paper to Saffron to read aloud.
Congratulations to the one who lit the fire bowl.
Tonight, you’re headed to Outcast Isle, the remote island away from camp.
No tools or supplies. What you may discover there could change the game.
Outcasted alone you won’t be. You must choose one member from Team Masc to join you.
A boat will pick you up shortly. You will return in the morning to play your first immunity challenge.
Saffron’s face beams and wraps her arms around my shoulders. Her side boob sweat makes contact with my skin. “Paya, looks like you’re going to Outcast Isle for the night. You’ll return in the morning for our first immunity challenge.”
“Outcast Isle?” I groan. This plant role isn’t off to a great start.
Saffron leads me away from the others. She lowers her voice, “Clues, Paya, clues. There’s probably an advantage on that island somewhere. Plus you’re picking someone from Team Masc to join you. That’s a big deal for us, babe. If I were you, I’d take the cutest one.”
I blink, getting overwhelmed. “I hardly remember anyone’s name on their team. I’ll need to think about it.” I lie. Although Celeste came to mind the moment Saffron read the words, I put my fingers on my chin exaggerating being in deep contemplation.
Nerves bubble at the pit of my stomach. In a few hours, I’ll be alone with Celeste until tomorrow morning. I stroll down to the water’s edge, giving me space to curate lines for my upcoming performance on Outcast Isle. I wish I remembered all the details from my first lie in Celeste’s office.
The crisp smell of the ocean breeze tinkles my nose, reminds me to take a deep breath, then I spot the grey cloud forming in the distance. Of course.
Minutes later, someone playfully hip bumps me bringing me back to the present. Blair with her cute, innocent giggle that’s hard not to reciprocate. She’s so damn sweet. I misjudged her from the fact that she brought real pearls.
“I really like you, Paya. And not just in the ‘and then they were roommates’ type of way.” She chuckles and shimmies her shoulders. “I don’t say this often, but I get the vibe that I can trust you. We chat strategy something. A true friend is rare in the world.”
Don’t I know it? A smile splits my lips. Blair really is adorable. There’s something about her that’s so easy to like. “I’d like that.”
She curves a hand above her eyes and points at the ocean. “The boat’s almost here. Let me know if you find anything interesting, okay?” She winks.
I smile and turn back toward the camp, my heart hammering against my ribs with each minute closer to facing the one person I lied to that I wish I hadn’t. “I know who I’m taking.” I tell Blair. “I think her name is Celeste.”