The Playground - 3. Sticker Frenzy

The second morning in the Playground Mansion found everyone feeling eager to start the new day and find out what games they’ll be playing next. After breakfast, the contestants made their way to the lounge, hoping Nicholas would show up to update them on what they’ll be doing that day. However, when the host arrived, it became clear they might have been a little too eager.

“Today’s round of games will begin later in the afternoon. But first, we’re preparing an extravagant pool party for all of you around noon, so you’re basically free to do whatever you want until then,” Nicholas explained.

After hearing that, the celebrities decided to spend the morning lazing around. Some of them, that is. Others, like Rico and Eric, decided to visit the gym and get a morning workout in. Tiffany and Kelly went outside to lie by the pool, while Alana and Marcus went downstairs to inspect the gaming room.

Samson perked up at the prospect of having a few hours free. As he looked around the lounge, he noticed Clementine sitting by a window, reading, while Troy was gearing up to leave.

“Hey honey, what are you up to?” Samson decided to take a shot, approaching the actor. He was pretty sure he’d finally managed to control blushing around the movie star.

“Just going to the kitchen to make a smoothie. Wanna join me?”

“Sure, I could use one myself.”

“So, how is it that we’ve never met before? All these events and parties, and we’ve never crossed paths,” Troy mused as he started grabbing various fruits from the fridge.

“I don’t know, I guess you haven’t been coming to the right ones,” Samson teased. “I did want to come to a few of your movie premieres, but something would always come up.”

“I don’t think you missed much there - other than meeting me, obviously,” the actor responded, pretending to puff his chest out. Samson tried hard not to stare as he attempted to figure out if Troy was flirting with him or not. “It’s just a whole lot of patting ourselves on the back, you know how it is.”

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean. But they can be fun sometimes.”

“Well then, I’ll make sure you’re invited to the next one, how’s that sound?” Troy turned to face Samson, sporting the same crooked smile he always had.

“I’m so there,” the singer replied. “Someone’s gotta teach you how to have fun.”

***

It was half past noon when the contestants were told to gather outside, as the pool party had been prepared. Nicholas followed after them, as cameras captured every moment.

Several small patio tables stacked with food and refreshments were placed across the tiled area by the pool, along with nine beanbags. There was a variety of finger food appetizers, sandwiches, barbecue, fruit and desserts, as well as champagne, sparkling water and fruit juices chilling in buckets with ice. There were even two coolers with watermelons inside.

“Contestants, welcome to your own little pool party. I hope you enjoy what we’ve prepared for you,” Nicholas announced as everyone looked around, taking it all in.

“Ooh, you went all out!” Tiffany admired the setup.

“I think I’ll eat this whole plate by myself,” Eric said. “I’m starving after the workout.”

“Help yourselves. I hope it’s up to your standards, especially since we have a professional chef in the house,” the host replied.

“Nick, as long as you didn’t prepare the food, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Clementine gave him a cheeky smile in return.

Just as people started settling down on the beanbags, a loud shout pierced the air.

“Wait!!” Tiffany yelled, startling everyone. “Don’t sit down!”

“Gurl, what the hell, you scared the crap out of me,” Samson gave her a funny look as he clutched his chest.

“And everyone else in the ten-mile radius,” Troy added.

“Uh, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you all. Just, be careful where you sit. Maybe they’re gonna split us into teams like yesterday.”

“Oh, good thinking,” Kelly nodded, getting up. “See how the beanbags are grouped three by three?”

“While I appreciate the critical thinking,” the host chuckled, ready to disprove their theory, “you can relax. Today’s game is individual, not group, so you can sit wherever you want. This was prepared just for your enjoyment.”

“Ok then, you heard the man. Let’s dig in,” Rico wasted no time in grabbing a sandwich from a tray and bringing it to his mouth. Others followed suit, making themselves comfortable and picking whatever food caught their eye.

Sitting in the shade of parasols, the contestants feasted and relaxed for several hours, almost forgetting there were cameras around. It wasn’t until they got bored that they ultimately started getting up one by one, deciding to go back inside. Just as they approached the mansion, Nicholas came up to them, inviting them to follow him into the lounge. As they entered, crew members went up and handed each contestant a small satchel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’re ready for another round of The Playground,” he announced ceremoniously. “Today’s game is… Sticker Frenzy. As I already mentioned, it’s an individual game, which means you’ll all be playing against each other. No cooperation is allowed.”

A few snickers could be heard, as if mocking the very idea of cooperating with rivals.

“Throughout the ground floor and the gaming room, we’ve hidden a bunch of stickers in three colors - blue, yellow and green. Each color is worth a different amount of points. One is ten points, the other is five, and the third one is minus five, but you won’t know which is which until the end of the game. Your task is to find as many stickers as you can in twenty minutes. When the time is up, you’ll gather back here. You will then have ten minutes to trade stickers with each other if you want to. We’ll then reveal how much each color was worth. Whoever has the most points will win a special boost for tomorrow’s games. The two people with the fewest points will be up for elimination.”

“Oh, this should be good,” Kelly smirked as her eyes darted around the lounge, trying to spot the stickers before the game even began.

“When did you even set all this up?” Eric asked.

“While you were out there having your pool party,” Nicholas grinned shamelessly.

“Just for our enjoyment, my ass!” Samson shouted sarcastically, turning towards the host. “Nicholas, I am never trusting you again.”

“Samson, you wound me,” the host replied, placing a hand over his heart. “One more thing. There is a special, fourth type of stickers - black ones. They are very rare, and you can exchange them for a random Chance which you can draw over there,” he pointed at a crew member sitting on the sofa, guarding a small box with slips of paper on the table in front of him. “The Chances will give you various benefits to help you in your quest. Does anyone have any questions? No? Not even Tiffany? Very well then. Get ready, because the Sticker Frenzy begins in three… two… one. Go!”

Like balls hit by a cue stick, the contestants scattered around the mansion as they began their search for stickers. Dozens of cameras were set up in every corner of each room, capturing every moment of the action.

While Troy and Clementine went to search the dining room, Tiffany and Eric rushed off to the kitchen, inspecting every nook and cranny.

Eric moved quickly, grabbing two stickers hidden among magnets on the fridge door just before Tiffany could get to them.

“Hey, stop taking my stickers, I was here first!” the girl complained, but the quarterback didn’t stop.

“No can do,” he replied without even sparing her a glance. “I’m a sticker collecting machine!”

Working his way around the dining table, Troy bent down to check the chairs from every angle.

“Come to daddy!” he exclaimed as he found a blue sticker taped on a chair leg. “Another one!... And another one! Wow, four of them!”

“Are you going to keep doing that whenever you find one?” Clementine asked, focused on inspecting the fireplace and the mantelpiece.

“Is it gonna get you to leave?” Troy grinned.

“No.”

“Then it can’t be that annoying,” the actor shrugged. “Nice, another one!”

Samson decided to stay in the lounge, starting his search from the spot he was standing in.

“Oh, here’s one!” he immediately found a green sticker stuck on the wall behind the curtain. He quickly found two more - one under the window sill, and one high up on the window pane. “Wow, there’s gotta be so many.”

Kelly seemed to have the same idea, as she stayed in the lounge, searching the area near the patio door. She moved quickly, eyeing the area before crouching down to take a few stickers that were stuck behind some chairs. However, she seemed to have decided that putting them in the satchel was too slow, so she started taping the stickers onto herself.

After casting a quick glance over at Samson and Kelly, Marcus rushed down the hall, noticing Rico going down into the gaming room. Changing his mind, the dancer turned left into the library.

“Good, I’m the first one here,” he muttered as he entered the room, collecting stickers as he moved and putting them in his bag.

After inspecting the dart board and the foosball table, Rico already had half a dozen stickers. He then moved to the pool table, finding a green sticker taped at the corner of the green surface.

“Hell yeah!” he mumbled to himself as he noticed a rare black sticker sneakily placed on the black ball. Quickly taking it off, he hurried to the lounge to exchange it for a Chance.

“I got a black one, I wanna cash in!” he strode over, handing his rare sticker to the crew member sitting on the couch. He then pulled out a piece of paper from the box, his eyebrows raising as he read: ‘Learn the value of a color of your choice.’

“Can I really do that?” he asked in disbelief, showing the paper to the other man, getting a nod in return.

After checking his stickers and seeing most of them were blue, he approached the man and whispered: “Ok, how much are the blue ones worth?”

“Five points,” the crew member whispered back, making sure no one else could hear.

“Ok,” the NBA player nodded, putting on his poker face. Turning on his heels, he rushed off the way he came, on a mission to find as many blue stickers as possible. They didn’t carry the most points, but at least he now knew they were safe to collect.

After searching the hall, Alana made her way into the bathroom. A crew member with a handheld camera trailed behind her.

“They wouldn’t have hidden any here, would they?” she asked squeamishly. “Ugh, I just know they would.”

Slowly, she lifted the toilet lid, and to her relief found nothing. “Ok, maybe not here. Would’ve been good footage, though.”

The cameraman chuckled as she dropped the lid back, moving on to search the cabinets.

In the library, Marcus quickly decided he was not going to check all the books on the shelves. “There’s no way they hid them inside the books, right?” he asked, turning to look at the cameraman who stood behind him and simply shrugged. “No way, that would take too long,” the dancer shook his head, instead moving over to search the writing desk and chairs.

“Gotcha!” he exclaimed as he ripped a black sticker off the inside of a lampshade. Wasting no time, he ran back to the lounge, trading it for a Chance.

“Freeze all other contestants for one minute,” he read the note. “That’s amazing. Can I use it whenever I want?”

The crew member nodded.

Suddenly getting the most devious idea, Marcus looked around to see where everyone was. As he spotted Kelly near the potted plants in the corner, he made his way to her. “I want to use my power now!” he shouted, waving the piece of paper in the air.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out over the speakers placed throughout the mansion: “Marcus is now using his Chance. All other contestants must freeze for one minute.”

With a chorus of groans, everyone stopped what they were doing. Meanwhile, the dancer approached Kelly like a predator stalking its prey.

“Well, well, you’ve got a lot of stickers on you,” he smirked as he eyed the girl’s T-shirt all covered in green, yellow and blue circles. “Too bad you can’t move.”

“Hey, back off,” she batted his hand away as he approached her. “Marcus is cheating!”

Once again, the same voice spoke out over the speaker system: “You cannot steal other contestants’ stickers.”

“Ugh. Relax, I was just trying to scare you,” Marcus replied with an eyeroll. Annoyed that his plan had been foiled, he rushed off to find more stickers while everyone else was still frozen. Even though punishing Kelly for being so careless would’ve been more fun, he could still make the most of the remaining time.

Once the minute was finally over, Samson approached the patio door and decided to step outside. “Maybe there’s some out here?” he wondered aloud as he inspected the patio table and chairs, while a crew member stood by with a camera in hand.

“Hmm, only this one,” the singer was disappointed, having found only one sticker taped to an ashtray. Just as he was about to return inside, he looked up. “But there’s a camera pointed this way. That means there’s gotta be something here, right?”

The unhelpful cameraman just shrugged, keeping a straight face.

“Oh, come on, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone. Just a hint? I’ll take a selfie with you. I’ll… I’ll get you Tyler Edwards’ autograph!” the singer tried to haggle, but the cameraman just smiled at the shameless offers. “Ok, you’ve got integrity, I’ll give you that one.”

With no answer from the other man, Samson decided to stop wasting time and take a closer look for himself. He gasped when he finally noticed a dark sticker high up on one of the stone pillars.

“Oh my gosh, is that a black one?!”

This time, he received a nod in response.

“Looks more like dark gray to me, but whatever,” the singer panted as he jumped for the fourth time, finally managing to reach the rare sticker and take it off. After a quick run over to the lounge, he traded the sticker in for a Chance. “Plus ten points on your final score. Ok, that’s not bad, I’ll take it. Maybe it’ll make a big difference in the end, who knows?”

Eric was just finishing his search of the hallway cupboards, when he noticed a stack of magazines and newspapers.

“This should be fun,” he winked at the cameraman standing nearby as he took out a magazine and tore out a small piece of paper. As he went down the hall and saw Clementine standing nearby, he pretended to drop the paper before walking away.

“Finders keepers,” the chef whispered as she rushed over, hoping to get the sticker. “Oh…” the incredibly smug expression on her face quickly turned into a frown as she realized she was tricked.

“You can keep that one!” Eric waved at her as he snickered, walking away without even looking back.

But while the NFL star enjoyed messing with Clementine, another contestant seemed to have hit the jackpot. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Tiffany had found something big as soon as they heard a loud “Aaaahh!” coming from the dining room. Merely seconds later, the excited girl ran into the lounge, waving her prize high in the air.

“I got one, I got one!” she practically thrust the black sticker in the crew member’s face before pulling a Chance out of the box. “Hmm, is this good? Take a look at another contestant’s stickers. Ok, let’s see… I wanna see Alana’s!”

The disembodied voice once again sounded from the speakers: “Alana, please show your stickers to Tiffany.”

The TV host opened her satchel, displaying all the stickers she had collected so far.

“That’s three blue, five green and four yellow ones. You don’t have very many, do you?”

“No,” Alana frowned. “Damned if I know where they hid them. Or maybe I was just too slow.”

“Sorry, babe,” Tiffany patted her on the arm. “So… I just realized I don’t really know what to do with that information. Eh, and I was really excited about finding a black one,” she added, walking away disappointed.

It was a few minutes later that the voice could be heard once again, informing the contestants their time had run out and telling them to gather in the lounge. One by one, they all returned, checking their final sticker count. It was time to start the ten-minute trading phase.

As the only person to know the value of at least one color, Rico knew what he wanted - more blue stickers, but he didn’t want the others to catch on. He looked around, pretending to have little interest in trading.

“Hey man, how many have you got?” Eric approached him.

“Quite a few. You?” Rico replied, slightly opening his bag and showing it to the other man.

“I got a lot too. You wanna trade some?”

“I don’t know, man,” the basketball player pretended to be reluctant. “We don’t know what color’s the best, we could just be shooting ourselves in the foot, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why I figure it’s best to have the same number of all colors. Or at least as close to it as you can get. What do you say? I could use one or two green ones.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Rico shrugged. “So, how about I give you a green one for a blue one?”

“Deal,” Eric replied, making the trade. “Sweet! Thanks, man.”

Some of the other contestants seemed to have caught on to the same strategy, looking to even out the numbers of all three colors as best as they could.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the time for trading is up! Please tell us how many stickers of each color you have, after which I’ll reveal their value,” Nicholas announced as he stood in his usual spot near the door.

In turn, every contestant counted their stickers, giving their final tally.

“Seems like it was a productive search, you’ve found almost all of the ones we’ve hidden,” the host said. “But the real question is how you fared in terms of points. Our team is already calculating everyone’s scores, but while they’re doing that, let me reveal the value of each color.”

Everyone perked up, staring at the host with utmost attention.

“Blue stickers are worth five points, the yellow ones are… ten points. Which means the green ones were the ones to avoid, as they’re worth minus five.”

Eric slammed his fist on the table, angry for trading in some of his yellow and blue stickers for green ones. Meanwhile, Clementine and Kelly silently stared at their stickers with a frown, trying to calculate their scores in their heads. Marcus glanced over at everyone else, trying to see how much everyone has collected.

“Well, I’ve had better days, I can say that much,” Alana chuckled humorlessly as she counted her pitiful amount of barely a dozen stickers.

“Sorry, hun,” Samson patted her arm. He looked at his treasure trove, but couldn’t be bothered doing the math. He had a bunch of stickers of every color, but decided that adding them up was too much work. “Nothing we can do about it now.”

“And now, let’s hear the scores,” Nicholas spoke once again. “The person with the most points is… Rico! Congratulations, you’re today’s winner with 65 points!”

The basketball player grinned while Eric and Troy slapped him on the back, congratulating him. The host then continued reading everyone’s scores, revealing that Kelly, Marcus, Samson, Clementine, Tiffany and Troy were all safe.

“That means that two contestants with the lowest number of points are Alana and Eric. You were actually tied with 30 points each, and by the end of the day, one of you will be leaving the Mansion. But this time, the audience won’t be the one voting. Your fellow contestants will now go one by one to the Confession Room and vote on who they want to save.”

The looks of sympathy toward Eric and Alana were suddenly replaced with bewilderment and shock as contestants realized they had the power - and the burden - to decide the fate of the two.

“It’s ok, vote for whoever you won’t. I promise I won’t get mad,” Alana smiled.

“Yeah, guys, it’s not a big deal,” Eric nodded in agreement as he watched the others slowly get up to go. “We’re just having fun.”

“Kelly, you’re up first. Please go to the Confession Room and vote on who you want to save. All votes will be anonymous,” Nicholas said as he pointed Kelly to the direction of the room down the hall.

One by one, the contestants went to cast their vote before returning to the lounge, silent. Tension mounted until Troy finally returned as the last person to vote. Almost immediately, Nicholas turned to the contestants, getting their attention.

“The votes are in, and sadly, it seems that this Mansion was indeed too big for two TV hosts. Alana, I’m afraid you’ve been eliminated,” he said as his eyes found those of his colleague, before turning to look at the NFL star. “Congratulations, Eric, you’re through to the next round.”

With a chorus of “I’m sorry”, everyone was all up in Alana’s personal space in a matter of seconds, squeezing the life out of her.

“Ugh, I’m gonna miss all of you. Even you, Nicholas!” the TV host joked as Nicholas himself came over to give her a hug.

“You can always stay and co-host the show with me. You wouldn’t get paid, but…”

“Nah, I’ll leave that to you, I don’t want to outshine you on your own show.”

After Alana retreated up to her room to pack, the rest of the group, with the notable exception of Clementine, stayed in the lounge, congratulating Eric on staying on the show.

“You were just unlucky today,” Troy said. “I’m sure you’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know,” the football player nodded. “Thanks for the votes, guys, it means a lot.”

A few hours later, the same scene from the night before repeated itself, as the group gathered outside to see another contestant off. But this time, it was Alana, and not Gloria, who was leaving the Mansion in a limo after a round of emotional goodbyes.

“And then there were eight,” Rico said, looking into the distance.

“Are you gonna do that every day?” Marcus asked.

“At least until he gets eliminated,” Kelly replied as everyone turned around and headed back into the Mansion.