The Playground - 2. 5v5

The outdoors playground area was abuzz with excitement as the contestants gathered for their first round of games. The crew had already set everything up for the games, although it was all still under covers. Several cameras were already placed all around, recording every moment.

Dressed in sporty outfits, everyone wanted to do their best to win, as no one was ready to go home on day one. Eric and Rico, both wearing their official jerseys, bounced a basketball between them, while Tiffany was in the middle of a yoga pose.

Samson stood to the side, tying his sneakers, when he heard someone approach. As he looked up, the familiar face of Marcus Knight greeted him.

“Haven’t had a chance to talk to you in private yet,” the dancer spoke first, a playful smile on his lips. “How are we feeling?”

“Hey, darling. I’m feeling good, ready to kick some ass. You think our team is gonna win?”

“I don’t wanna celebrate yet, but I think we have a pretty good shot,” Marcus nodded. “How are things going with you? You’ve been out of the spotlight for months. That’s so not like you.”

“Well… I’m afraid that’s kind of a secret, honey. You’ll just have to wait and see,” the singer winked. “How are things with you and Ash?”

“Really good,” Marcus beamed.

“Aww, I’m so happy for you two. Tell him I said hi.”

“He’s gonna be watching this, so you can tell him yourself,” Marcus replied with a chuckle.

“Oh, right! Well, I hope you enjoy the show, Ash, and don’t get too mad when I beat your boyfriend,” Samson replied, looking into the nearest camera.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” the dancer smirked as he observed the competition.

Just as Gloria approached Tiffany to ask her for some yoga tips, Nicholas Stone made his way out of the mansion, carrying his notes as usual. Even though it was a hot summer day, he was still impeccably dressed in a suit and tie.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first round of The Playground! I hope you’re ready to have some fun, because I’m sure our viewers are dying to see you sweat.”

“We’re ready, Nicholas, darling,” Alana interrupted him, giving him a cheeky grin.

“Alana, I’m so happy to hear that,” the host replied with a hand on his heart. “As we already said, this time you’ll be competing in two teams in a relay challenge. There are five tasks, one for each team member, and you must try to do them as quickly as you can. As soon as the first member finishes their task, the second person will start theirs and so on, until all five are complete. If you fail one task, you must do everything all over again. The team that completes all five tasks first wins!”

“What do we win?” Clementine asked, causing a few heads to turn her way.

“We’ll get to that in a bit, Clementine. Let’s explain the tasks first,” the host said as the crew unveiled the playground setup. “Task one is Ring Toss – you must spin around seven times and then toss a ring onto that pole over there. Task two is Jenga – you must pull out five jenga pieces as quickly as possible without toppling the tower. You’ll need a steady hand for that one. Task three is Darts – you must hit the moving target with at least three darts. Task four is another shooting game – Water Gun. One person will put a table tennis ball on their head, and a teammate must knock it over by spraying it with a water gun. And finally, we have the Jump Rope task – while two people turn the jump rope, the third must jump twenty times while holding a cup full of water. You cannot spill more than half the cup.

Who’s doing which task, and in what order – we’ll leave that up to you to decide. Now, the team that finishes all five games first wins a box of luxury chocolates and two bottles of champagne. And, of course, the bragging rights. The losing team will be up for elimination. Our viewers at home will vote to save their favorite member of the losing team. Whoever gets the least votes will leave the Mansion by the end of the day.”

“We are winning this, man,” Rico said with confidence as his team members – Eric, Clementine, Tiffany and Gloria - all huddled together.

“Ok, let’s talk strategy,” Kelly was in full business mode, looking at her teammates – Samson, Alana, Marcus and Troy.

“I think we should do the easiest games first,” Alana suggested. “That way, if we mess something up, we can quickly do them again.”

“I agree, but what’s the easiest? Maybe jenga or the water gun?” Samson proposed as he eyed the props behind them. “We should probably leave the jump rope last.”

“Yeah, I’m with Sammy here,” Troy nodded.

“Sammy?” Marcus raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t mind, do you?” the actor turned to Samson, offering a cheeky smile.

“Of course not,” the singer replied, struggling not to swoon in front of everyone. He hated the nickname, but Troy could call him whatever he wanted.

“So then - jenga, water gun, ring toss, darts and then jump rope,” Marcus concluded, making sure everyone was on the same page.

“Sounds good to me,” Kelly nodded.

The opposing team seemed to be wasting no time in developing a strategy of their own, grouped up a little further away and chatting animatedly.

“I can do jenga, my hands are steady as a rock,” Clementine said, sticking out one hand and showing how calm it was.

“Wow, it’s true! She’s like a statue,” Tiffany noticed. “I wanna do the jump rope thingy!”

“Fine by me. I can do the ring toss. I don’t get dizzy that easily,” Eric said with easy confidence. Rico volunteered for the darts, while Gloria agreed she’d do the water gun game.

In a matter of minutes, both teams had agreed on the order of games and who would be doing what. Tiffany was practically bouncing off the ground, while Clementine observed everything silently. Seemingly unconcerned, Gloria waved over at Alana and Troy on the opposing team, mouthing ‘Good luck!’.

Eric and Rico fist-bumped, feeling unphased by the competition. Having met each other on several occasions before the show, the two athletes seemed to have become fast friends already.

Samson, meanwhile, grabbed his water gun and tried aiming with it, practicing for his game until Nicholas’ voice startled him.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen… and Alana,” the host winked at his colleague, “it’s time for the games to begin! I hope you’re all ready. Take your positions and start in three... two... one!”

Alana was already standing by the jenga table, her hand stretched out and ready for action. As soon as the host finished countdown, she started pulling out the pieces, holding her breath as she did. While everyone around her went quiet so they wouldn’t disturb her, the opposing team went loud, trying to break her focus.

Meanwhile, Eric bent down to a ninety-degree angle and started spinning around.

“Five… six… seven!” Gloria counted.

The NFL player stopped and tried to stand up, getting wobbly in the process.

“Not getting dizzy, sure,” Clementine mumbled, frowning at her teammates.

“Wow…” Eric stumbled a little, holding on to the actress. It took him a moment to recover before he threw the plastic ring, barely hitting the pole on the first try.

On the other side, Samson was already standing behind a line on the ground, aiming at the little ball on Troy’s head. He fired the water gun and hit the ball right away, but not without spraying the actor all over the hair and face.

“You just want to see me wet,” Troy teased, eliciting a loud scoff and an eyeroll from Kelly.

“Kelly, less whining, more spinning,” Marcus ordered sharply, handing the singer a plastic ring.

On the other team, Gloria had also managed to hit her target with the water gun, spraying Tiffany in the process.

“Thank goodness for my waterproof makeup!” the TV star exclaimed, trying to fix her messed up hair.

Next up was Rico, who threw the first dart and barely managed to hit the board which moved left and right. The second dart hit a little closer to the centre, while the third one ended up near the edge again.

“Wow, you’re good at this,” Gloria admired his skills, applauding along with the rest of their team.

Just as the third dart hit the board, Clementine started her jenga task, trying to get the pieces out as quickly as possible. No one dared say a word as she counted the pieces.

“One… two… three… four…”

This time, the other team made sure to return the favor and start shouting, trying to get her to mess up.

“Clementine, if you get all five, you get a kiss from Eric!” Troy shouted.

The chef’s entire team let out a loud gasp as the jenga tower toppled over before she could pull out the final piece.

“Steady hand, my ass. More like shaky like a leaf,” Eric gloated.

“Like you could do better,” Clementine snapped back.

“Don’t let him get a rise out of you,” Gloria advised. “Eric, start spinning!”

The other team was on their second attempt as well, as Kelly narrowly missed her ring toss. Alana and Samson breezed through their challenges again, leaving Kelly to try for the second time. The singer spun around, but Alana and Marcus were there to support her once she was done. This time, the ring foud its target.

Troy, who stood nearby with darts in one hand, immediately took one and threw it at the moving board, missing it. He had four darts left, three of which had to hit the target.

“Come on, Troy, you can do it!” Samson cheered him on, his eyes darting between the actor’s hand and the board.

The next three shots all found their target, to the relief of the entire team. That only left the final game. Samson and Alana were already holding the jump rope, while Marcus stood in between them, holding a plastic cup filled with water.

“You ready?” Samson asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Marcus nodded, steeling himself. It was just a silly game, but his competitive spirit had kicked in big time. He just had to do his best and rely on his dance training to serve him well.

“Three, two, one,” Alana counted down, and then started spinning the rope together with Samson.

From the other part of the playground, Tiffany observed the rival team, bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet. “O-M-G, they’re already on their final game!”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to mess up again,” Clementine replied, as she pulled out jenga pieces more slowly this time. “Done!”

“Great! Let’s go, guys,” Rico made eye contact with Gloria, each holding one end of the jump rope. “Three, two, one!”

Tiffany started jumping, staring at a fixed point in front of her, not even daring to look at the cup in her hand. Still, she could feel water from the cup spill out all over her body.

“Ah, I’m getting wet!” she yelled louder than she intended, drawing chuckles from the two athletes.

“Is that a bad thing?” Eric couldn’t help himself.

“Oh, grow up,” Gloria rolled her eyes at the man.

Meanwhile, a sly smile started spreading across Marcus’ face as he silently counted his jumps, realizing he would be finished first. It seemed that no one dared to utter a word, other than Samson and Rico, who quietly counted the jumps for their respective teams.

“Eighteen, nineteen, twenty!” Samson yelled out the final number. It was only then that Marcus looked at the cup he was holding, realizing most of the water was still there.

“Fuck yes!” the dancer shouted, putting the cup down on the table before he was surrounded from all sides, as his teammates jumped at him for a group hug. “We did it!”

“Told ya we would crush them!” Troy said, squeezing his teammates tightly.

After the initial disappointment, the other team eventually moved over to congratulate their rivals on their victory, hugging and shaking hands.

“And that’s how you do it!” the host’s voice echoed as he spoke into the mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of games is over, and what a round it was - tense until the final moment! Congratulations to Marcus, Troy, Alana, Samson and Kelly, you’ve won the relay race. How does it feel?”

“I know this is just day one, but it feels great to win,” Marcus replied. “The other team was really good too, it was pretty close.”

“Nah, we had it in the bag,” Troy grinned, sticking his tongue out. “But seriously, I think we all did great.”

***

After the winning team received their rewards, everyone went inside to shower and change before meeting in the lounge. While some of the contestants treated themselves with champagne, others settled for coffee or whatever they managed to find in the kitchen.

“Ok, let’s hear it - what made you bunch of lovely folks decide to do the show?” Alana asked all of a sudden, curiously eyeing the rest of the group. She popped a piece of chocolate in her mouth, enjoying the spoils of her victory.

“I just thought it’d be fun,” Samson was the first to reply as he lounged in a beanbag, sipping on champagne. “As soon as I got the invite, my best friend and I were over the moon. I know she’s watching now, hey gurl!” He gave an energetic wave to the nearest camera. “Plus, if I win, I want to donate the money to a foundation for LGBT+ youth, so that was also a big reason.”

“I wanted to do something wild and fun. No grand plan behind it,” Troy said, shrugging his shoulders. “I used to watch these shows all the time when I was a kid, so this is kinda like a teenage dream come true for me. What about you, Rico?”

“You know, I never get to do much outside of NBA, with all the games and practices. I usually don’t have the time… So I wanted to do something different for once, something that’s not basketball.”

“So if we get any basketball games in here, someone else should do them?” Troy asked.

“Be my guest, man,” Rico let out a chuckle. “I don’t mind someone taking over for me.”

“Well, when I heard Rico was gonna be here, I just knew I had to get involved so I can beat him,” Eric jumped in, slapping the other man on the shoulder.

“Wow, big words, but can you back it up?” the NBA player turned to elbow him.

“Oh, you’ll see! I’ma keep you on your toes, bro!”

“How about you, Clementine? What made you accept the offer?” Gloria asked.

“Hmm… I guess I wanted to do something people wouldn’t expect from me,” the chef replied, looking pensively into the distance. She seemed cool and composed, sitting with a perfect posture. “I know people have a preconceived notion of me, thinking I’m this serious, controlling boss woman…”

“But are they wrong, though?” Alana chimed in, letting out a laugh.

“Well, not necessarily, but I’m not just that.”

“Fair enough.”

“And you, Ms McConnell? I suppose doing something different doesn’t apply to you, since you’re doing game shows anyway?” Clementine asked.

“True, but I’m usually on the other side. Always the host, never the contestant,” Alana replied with exaggerated gestures. “So I thought I’d see what it’s like to be in this role.”

“Well, I actually came here as a dare,” Tiffany said as she applied lip gloss in a very bright shade of pink, matching her crop top. “When I told my sisters I got the invite, they teased me that I’d be eliminated on day one, so I knew I had to come and prove them wrong.”

“Well, you haven’t proven them wrong yet,” Samson observed with a teasing smirk. “But good luck, hun!”

“Thanks, babe!” the girl smiled at him.

“I’m with Tiffany,” Kelly spoke up. “I came to prove I can do this – maybe not to my family, but to myself. Plus, I already got the perfect spot for where I’ll put the trophy when I win,” she added, pursing her lips.

“Easy, girl, you’re not there yet,” Marcus raised his eyebrows at her. “But I do admire the cockiness.”

“Nothing wrong with being confident,” the singer shot back.

“True,” the dancer nodded. “To be honest, I was surprised they even invited me in the first place. I thought this was supposed to be only for big names… But then I heard about all of you, so…”

“Ooh, shots fired!” Rico shouted as everyone laughed out loud.

“I think I wanted to show people I’m not just the evil witch from Black Magic,” Gloria said, fixing her long hair with one hand. “It’s like whenever I do interviews and stuff, people expect me to get into character and threaten to destroy someone.”

“Do people really do that?” Clementine asked.

“Yeah. This one time I came across a fan on the street, and he wanted to take a selfie with me, but he wanted me to put my hands on his neck and pretend I was strangling him. And like… I’m not like that in real life at all, so it was very awkward,” Gloria burst into laughter.

“Oh lord, perks of being famous, huh?” the chef chuckled, shaking her head.

Soon, everyone dispersed around the mansion while they waited for the voting to be over. It wasn’t until a few hours later that Nicholas walked into the lounge, looking like a man on a mission. All the cameras focused on him.

“Did everyone get the memo? It’s showtime in a few minutes,” he asked, looking around, counting seven people.

“I’m here!” Tiffany called out from the kitchen. She quickly came bouncing over, excited like a puppy.

“Good, now that we’re all here, we can get to the unpleasant part… Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid the time has come for one of you to say goodbye. For the last few hours, our lovely audience have been casting their votes and their decision was clear. Tiffany… you’re safe, you get to play another day.”

A loud exhale escaped the TV starlet as she dropped on the couch. “Nicholas, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I’m sure you’ll live,” the host smiled. “Rico… congratulations, you’re also safe.”

The basketball player just smiled and gave a silent nod, his eyes lighting up.

“Now, these two have had a bit of a rocky start. Eric and Clementine, the audience have decided… that you’re also going through,” Nicholas announced dramatically. “Sadly, that means Gloria has received the fewest votes and is the first contestant to be eliminated.”

A crowd immediately formed around the young actress, pulling her into a hug.

“I can’t believe this. Why would anyone not vote for you?” Alana spoke as she squeezed the younger woman.

“We’re gonna miss you, girl,” Samson lamented.

“Thank you, guys, but it’s fine. It sucks to have to leave so soon, but someone had to go first,” the actress said, surprising herself with getting so emotional. “I’ll miss you too, though. All of you.”

A few hours later, just as the sun began to sat, the contestants were gathered once again, but this time on the lawn in front of the mansion.

“Need some help with that?” Troy asked, watching as Gloria came over with her suitcases.

“Thanks, darling, but I’m fine,” she offered a grateful smile.

“Gloria, any final words before you leave?” Nicholas asked as he approached the actress, taking her hand in his.

“I guess I just want to say thank you to my family, friends and fans. I hope you’ve enjoyed my brief foray into variety shows. It was a little shorter than I’d hoped,” she let out a light chuckle. “And if I see any of you teasing me for being the first to leave… I will destroy you!” she added, casting a wicked glare as she pointed at the camera.

After another round of hugs and goodbyes, the remaining nine contestants stood in front of the mansion, watching as Gloria went out the gate and entered the limo waiting for her.

“And then there were nine,” Rico said, before everyone made their way back inside.

***

It was still too early for bed, so Samson decided to seek out Troy and have a chat with him. He’d heard some rumors over the years about the actor being into guys, but nothing he was able to confirm. Maybe now he would finally get his chance.

After checking himself out in the mirror and making sure he looked good, the singer went to the lounge to look for the movie heartthrob. However, just as he stepped into the room, he noticed Kelly bouncing over to the actor.

“Hey, Troy, I wanted to ask you something - in private. Mind if we go outside?” the girl was all smiles.

Samson rolled his eyes as he watched the singer get her claws around Troy’s arm, dragging him out the door. He had never seen more desperate flirting in his life. Deciding to dismiss the unwanted thought of the pair possibly hooking up outside, he made his way to the kitchen. Perhaps a drink before bed would be best after all.

***

“Can you believe Gloria got eliminated?” Marcus tried to make small talk with Alana as he crouched by the TV, browsing the video games stacked on the floor next to it. The pair had somehow found themselves alone in the gaming room, but as they had never met each other, they didn’t exactly have many common points of interest.

“I’ll admit, it’s weird she was voted out,” Alana, who was playing darts, replied without even looking away from the board. “I thought it was gonna be someone else for sure.”

“Me too. Who did you think it was gonna be?” the dancer decided to take a shot and ask.

“To be frank, I thought Clementine was going home. It seems she messed up her jenga. Or Eric. The two of them have been going at each other, though I guess it’s mostly Clementine. Eric seems to just love winding her up,” Alana replied. “I guess the audience loves the drama, so they voted for them to stay.”

“Hmm, interesting. Are you saying we should cause drama if we want to stay here longer?” Marcus asked with a half-smile and an eyebrow raise.

Alana glanced over, unsure if he was joking or not. “I am definitely not saying that,” she laughed, “but I can’t stop you either.”

Opting for a few games of Overwatch before going to bed, Marcus sat on the couch, deep in thought. It turned out coming to the gaming room was a good decision after all. Whether she was serious or not, Alana had certainly given him something to think about.