The Playground - 4. Coupled Up

With two contestants already gone, the Playground Mansion was slowly starting to feel empty. As the eight remaining celebrities sat in the dining room having breakfast, every now and then someone would glance over at the two empty seats. No one seemed to be ready to go home yet.

“Does anyone have any idea what we’re going to be doing today?” Rico asked, still in high spirits after yesterday’s win.

“No, I wish they’d give us hints! I can’t stand this suspense,” Tiffany complained. “And now Alana’s gone! She was so sweet… Ugh, this day sucks!”

“That’s the game, girl. We’re all gonna leave eventually. Most of us, anyway,” Kelly replied indifferently, shrugging her shoulders. “Besides, you’ve already done what you came here to do. You’ve proven to your sisters you wouldn’t be the first to get eliminated.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“And it wouldn’t be very good TV if they didn’t throw some surprises at us now and then, would it?”

“I know, but still,” the other girl groaned as she cut her veggie sandwich in half. “I didn’t think this would be so nerve-racking!”

“I don’t know, I’m enjoying being surprised every day. It’s not like the games are gross or impossible to do. It’s all in good fun,” Marcus replied.

“Wow, how diplomatic of you. I didn’t expect that,” Samson chuckled.

“Yeah, I kinda surprised myself there too.”

“I bet the viewers are loving it too,” the singer replied. “I hope my Stansons are having fun watching me embarrass myself. I do miss not having my phone and being able to see their reactions. I’m sure they’ve already made tons of gifs and memes about us.”

“All in a day’s work,” Clementine stood up from the table, the first to finish her breakfast, as usual. “I agree with Marcus, though. This is an entertainment show and there’s no need to take it seriously. Whoever wins, it’s going to be well-deserved. We should just enjoy it and have fun, because it’ll be over before we know it.”

“Well said, Clementine,” Troy nodded as he stood up next. “Well, I don’t know about you lot, but I could use some sun. I’m going out for a walk.”

“I’ll join you,” Kelly scrambled to follow, leaving some of her eggs and bacon unfinished.

Eric was next to get up. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts, showing off his beefy, toned body. “I’m gonna go get changed and hit the gym in a bit. Anyone wanna join? I’d be happy to give you some pointers.”

“I’ll join you in a bit, man. Not that I need any pointers from you,” Rico replied, playfully punching the other man in the shoulder.

The group dispersed as everyone got up from the table. Clementine and Tiffany went to the lounge, while Samson and Marcus followed the two athletes upstairs and went to their bedrooms to get changed.

It was a few minutes later that Samson heard a knock on the door, which turned out to be Marcus.

“Hey, am I interrupting?”

“No, honey, come on in,” Samson replied as he finished making his bed. “What’s up?”

“Not much, just wanted to chat a bit, you know, out of the way of cameras and everyone else.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda still not used to having cameras everywhere. I sometimes forget they’re recording us the whole time, which is silly because that’s part of my job description.”

“True, but you don’t have them around your house the entire time. It’s weird, but I think it’s easier because everyone here is used to the same thing, more or less.”

“Do you think everyone’s already shown their true faces?” Samson asked. “I mean, Eric and Clementine are definitely not bothering to hide their mutual dislike. But maybe that’s only for show.”

“I think Clementine is just jealous. I mean, Eric basically stole her shtick.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, her whole thing is being cocky, confident bordering on arrogant, and now Eric is doing the same thing, but better. He somehow makes it sexy, so he can get away with it,” Marcus explained. “Eric knows it, so he loves getting under her skin.”

“You know, I think you’re onto something there,” the singer replied. “But what about you, are you having fun?”

“Oh yeah. Like I said at breakfast, I think the games are silly and fun, I’m having a blast.”

“I can tell. I saw what you tried to pull with Kelly yesterday, with the stickers,” Samson said, giving him a sly smile. “I wish they’d let you get away with it. It was fun seeing her sweat.”

“I bet you enjoyed that, ‘Sammy’,” Marcus replied in a teasing tone. “But hey, how was I supposed to know it was against the rules, right? I saw a chance, so I took it,” he shrugged like it was no big deal. “But don’t get me wrong, just because I’m having fun, doesn’t mean I’m not here to win. I’m in this all the way.”

“Same here. I have my eyes on that trophy, just so you know,” the singer cocked an eyebrow, his tone more serious than playful this time.

“Well, good luck with that. You’re gonna need it,” Marcus gave him a meaningful look.

“Yeah, yeah,” Samson rolled his eyes as he pointed at the armchair next to the bed. “Now come on, sit over there and tell me all about you and Ash! I have no love life, so I need to live vicariously through someone.”

He then proceeded to open his nightstand, pulling out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “I swiped this from the kitchen this morning. I hope no one’s gonna miss it!”

“Well, let’s make sure we put it to good use,” Marcus laughed as he accepted a glass. “Cheers!”

***

It was early in the afternoon when everyone was gathered outside on the Playground behind the Mansion, ready for another round of games.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to day three of The Playground!” Nicholas Stone announced as he stood on the lawn, facing the remaining eight contestants. “I hope you’re ready to tackle today’s challenges, because you’ll be put to the test in more ways than one!”

All eight celebrities stood dressed in sportswear and ready for action.

“Come on, Nicky boy, what are we doing today?” Eric asked impatiently.

“I love the eagerness, Eric,” the host replied. “Today, you won’t be doing just one game, but four. Each game is worth five points. But unlike yesterday, you won’t be doing them alone. You’ll be competing in pairs, so you and your partner better have good teamwork because you’ll win together or lose together! Needless to say, one person from the losing pair will be going home at the end of the day.”

“Can we choose who we pair up with this time?” Clementine asked as she looked around, dreading the possibility of being forced to be in a team with Eric again.

“As a matter of fact… Yes. This time, we’re letting you choose your own partners,” Nicholas replied to a collective sigh of relief.

Before Samson could even react, Kelly had already bounced over to Troy, grabbing him by the arm. “Wanna couple up for this? We’ll kill it together.”

“Uh, sure, why not?” the actor shrugged with disinterest.

“Tiff, wanna be on my team?” Rico surprised everyone when he turned to the TV star and asked her to pair up.

“Oh! Yes! I’d love to,” the girl stammered, taken by surprise.

Eric briefly glanced at the remaining options before turning to Samson. “What do you say, wanna be on the winning team?”

“Damn right!” the singer replied, approaching the much bigger man. If he couldn’t be with the dreamy actor, the hunky football player wasn’t a bad second option by any means.

“Guess that leaves the two of us,” Marcus told Clementine as he went to stand beside her. “You ready?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” the woman nodded calmly, a confident smile briefly appearing on her lips.

“Right, now that we have our pairs, let’s get down to business. The first game of the day is 'A Kick in the Balls’. You and your partner have to pass an object back and forth five times without dropping it, but you cannot use your arms. You can kick it, bounce it off your knees, chest, whatever, as long as you don’t use your arms. You have one minute to do this,” the host explained. “As the winner of yesterday’s Sticker Frenzy, Rico gets to decide who will use which item.”

“Alright, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” the basketball player lit up, walking over to the host. “Lay it on me, man.”

With a dramatic flourish, the host removed a sheet from a table covering the four objects.

“The items are: a soccer ball, a tennis ball, a balloon, and an orange.”

“What? That’s so unfair,” Kelly groaned in frustration.

“Should’ve done better yesterday, honey,” Samson decided to sass her. “Or maybe you should’ve teamed up with Rico.”

“Man, imagine if there was a basketball. It still almost feels like cheating… But I don’t care, I’m taking the soccer ball for me and Tiffany,” the NBA star decided, grabbing the ball and twirling it on his index finger with practiced ease.

“Wow, that’s so impressive!” Samson exclaimed in an exaggerated manner. “You know, you’re such a great player, I love watching all your games.”

“Really?” Rico smirked. “What’s my position?”

“...position?” the singer stared at him in confusion. “Um, I’m thinking missionary?”

“I meant in basketball,” the athlete let out a chuckle. “But nice try. Here, you and Eric can have the balloon.”

“Oh my God, thanks!” Samson happily accepted the green balloon, bouncing over to his partner.

“I don’t know about your position, but whatever it is, it’s doing wonders for your build,” Kelly walked over, placing a hand on Rico’s large bicep. “I mean, just look at these arms, they’re huge!”

“Kelly, weren’t you drooling all over Troy a minute ago?” Marcus deadpanned, looking at the singer in annoyance. “You practically begged him to pair up with you.”

“Yup, we all saw it,” Samson nodded in agreement, still annoyed Kelly stole Troy from him.

She quickly turned her head, glaring daggers at them.

“Hmm… Kelly, what do you want out of these?” Rico asked.

“The tennis ball!”

“Marcus and Clementine, what do you guys want?”

“The tennis ball!” the pair echoed the words.

“Ok, let’s do it like this,” the NBA player took the ball and the orange in his hands and put them behind his back, mixing them up. “Ok, Kelly, pick a hand.”

“The right one!”

“Tough luck,” Rico shrugged, presenting her with the orange. “Here you go, guys,” he lobbed the tennis ball over to Marcus.

“Yesss!” the dancer celebrated, high-fiving Clementine, while Kelly returned to her spot with a deep frown on her face and a citrus fruit in her hand.

“Alright! Now that you’ve all got your items, it’s time to play the game. Rico and Tiffany, you’re up first,” the host said, letting the first pair move to the center area.

“Wait! Can we try it out first, like a practice run?” Tiffany asked.

“You can practice all you want, but you’ll be on the clock,” Nicholas warned her. Annoyed, the girl stuck her tongue out at him before turning to face her partner. “Your time starts in three… two… one. Go!”

“Alright, Tiff, just follow my lead, ok?” Rico held the ball above his knee before dropping it and easily bouncing it up towards the girl.

The girl seemed to be in panic mode, as if she’d never seen a ball in her life. She managed to kick it before it touched the ground, but instead of kicking it up, she sent it flying way behind Rico.

“Girl, you need to turn your leg like this and kick it with the side of your foot,” the NBA player said as he grabbed the ball again, showing her how it was done.

This time, Tiffany managed to return the ball, and after three more successful bounces, their challenge was finished.

“Oh my God, I did it!” the TV star shouted with joy, jumping up and down before running over to hug her partner.

“Congratulations you two! It only took you seventeen seconds,” Nicholas said. “Let’s see if anyone can top this. Eric and Samson, you’re up next with your balloon.”

The pair moved to the center, and while Samson looked cautious, Eric was the epitome of confidence as usual.

“I better not see anyone blow our way,” the quarterback warned the rest, half-jokingly, half-seriously, before turning to face Samson. “You ready?”

The singer nodded, and with that, Eric let the balloon go, hitting it lightly with his knee. Samson rushed over, as the balloon stared flowing to the side instead of towards him. He kicked it up, sending it towards Eric, who managed to return it with ease. Now with a full-on grin on his face, Samson kicked the balloon up again. The NFL player gave it one last bounce with his knee before doing a fist pump.

“Hell yeah!” he shouted. “That’s how it’s done!”

“Well I did it too,” Samson rolled his eyes. “And it wasn’t that difficult, to be honest.”

“Congratulations, Eric and Samson. You’ve completed the first game in only ten seconds,” Nicholas said. “Now for our third pair, Clementine and Marcus. Let’s see how good you are with your tennis ball.”

“Ok, do we have any strategy here?” Marcus asked uncertainly as he approached Clementine, weighing the ball in his hand.

“Yes – don’t let it hit the ground,” the chef replied with a straight face.

“You don’t say! Ok, I’ll start,” the dancer said, and after a short countdown, he kicked the ball as he had seen the previous couples do. With surprising agility, Clementine kicked it back, but Marcus failed to connect.

“Ugh, it’s too small!” he groaned as he picked it up.

“Don’t tell me you’re not happy with your ball, Marcus,” Kelly took a jab at him from the sidelines.

“At least my ball can’t be used in a fruit salad,” he shot back.

“Come on, Marcus. A true master doesn’t blame his tools,” Clementine cut them off and grabbed the ball from him, kicking it so it went flying up. This time, it was Marcus who kicked it back, but the chef narrowly missed.

“Oof, it ain’t looking good,” Eric pretended to whisper, knowing full well that Clementine could hear him, but she did not give him the satisfaction of reacting. Both she and Marcus seemed to have their eyes firmly on the ball and nothing else. Determined to do it right, they tried again, and after one more failed attempt finally managed to complete their challenge.

“Yes! Well played, Clementine.”

“You too, Marcus.”

The pair high-fived just as Nicholas announced they had finished their task in forty-eight seconds.

“And now for the final pair, Kelly and Troy. Let’s see how you handle your fruit!”

“Ok, let’s show ’em how it’s done,” Troy confidently grabbed the orange and pretended to juggle it. Of course, since he only had the one fruit, he ended up just throwing it into the air with one hand and catching it with the other. Understandably, no one seemed particularly impressed, though it did draw a few chuckles out of the other contestants.

“While your juggling skills are admirable, Troy, let’s get to the real game,” Nicholas sped things along.

After a brief countdown, the final pair’s game was on. Troy dropped the orange and tried kicking it lightly, but he seemed to have underestimated the force required. The fruit unceremoniously plopped down on the ground.

“You need to kick it harder!” Kelly complained as she plucked the orange out of the grass.

“Well, I didn’t want to break it,” the actor replied. “Let’s see you do better, then.”

Mimicking Troy’s moves, the singer kicked the fruit with the side of her foot, but again, it didn’t seem to be enough. Instead of flying over to Troy, the orange quickly fell to the ground.

“I feel bad for them,” Tiffany pretended to cover her face with her hands, but kept on watching the trainwreck.

“Nice skills, guys. You should go pro,” Eric started trash-talking them.

“I don’t know, man, isn’t fruit soccer very competitive?” Troy asked, unfazed, as he picked up the orange again. “Ok, we need to stand closer together since this thing isn’t gonna fly.”

Kelly approached him so that their legs were almost touching. This time, when the actor kicked the orange, she was right there to kick it back. Troy managed to return the kick, but Kelly missed hers and stumbled in the process. As she fell down, one of her knees landed right onto the orange, smashing it.

Everyone burst into laughter, including Troy.

“Stop laughing!” the annoyed singer shouted as she got up, but even she couldn’t keep a straight face. “Oh shit, my knee is all orange,” she said as she laughed out loud, trying to clean her sweatpants.

“I think our ball deflated,” Troy snickered. “Can we get another one?”

“We thought something like this might happen,” Nicholas nodded, as a crew member quickly approached the actor, handing him a fresh new orange.

“Look at this beaut!” Troy held the fruit up, pretending to admire it. “This one’s a winner for sure!”

“Great. Eric, you can eat the other one,” Kelly said, pointing to the squished orange on the ground.

Repeating their previous strategy, the pair quickly huddled close together and started kicking the fruit, this time barely managing five kicks before letting it fall to the ground.

“Congratulations, Troy and Kelly! Against all odds, you’ve completed your challenge in fifty-six seconds. That means all four couples have earned five points in the first round,” the host announced. “Let’s move on to the second round, which is called ‘Tongue Action’.”

“Oh, here we go,” Kelly smiled, looking ready for some kissing.

Just then, everyone’s attention was drawn to the group of crew members bringing in several trays stacked with small dishes and placing them on nearby tables. The pairs sat in their designated spots, finding bowls that clearly contained ice cream.

“In front of all of you, there are three bowls of ice cream, each of which has a different combination of two flavors. You must identify all three combinations correctly to win five points. The flavors are, in no particular order: mango, peach, pineapple, pistachio, vanilla and cookie dough. All ice creams are vegan, and clearly, they’re all the same color, so don’t rely on that,” Nicholas explained. “Work in pairs to identify the flavors. This round, all pairs will play the game at the same time. Any questions?” he asked, looking at Tiffany.

“Huh? What?” the young girl, who was already eating her ice cream, suddenly raised her head. “Um, no questions!”

“Alright then. You have three minutes. Your time starts now!”

The contestants picked up their spoons and dug in, first taking just tiny bits of the cold dessert as they tried to figure out the flavors.

“What the hell is a cookie dough flavor anyway? It’s not like there’s only one type of cookie,” Eric muttered irritably, already on his second bowl.

“Well… I don’t know how to explain it,” Samson shrugged. “It tastes like cookies. You’ll know it when you taste it.”

Like all the other couples, Marcus and Clementine leaned towards each other so they could talk without being overheard.

“What do you think so far? I think the first one is mango and vanilla,” the dancer suggested, hoping his partner, as a professional chef, would have an easy time of it in the challenge.

“It’s vanilla for sure, but I think that’s peach, not mango. I think the second one is mango and pistachio, and the third one is obviously pineapple and cookie dough.”

Unlike Tiffany, Kelly didn’t seem to be enjoyed the challenge as much.

“Ugh, I hate pistachios,” the songstress rolled her eyes.

“Oh, which one is that?” Troy asked as he tasted some of the second ice cream.

“I think it’s the third one,” the girl replied.

“You think? You just said you hated it, and you’re not even sure which one it is?”

“Ok, I’m pretty sure it’s the third one, and I know I hate it.”

Tiffany and Eric were similarly too busy arguing about flavor combinations, they didn’t even notice their bowls were nearly empty.

“Shit! How are we gonna figure it out now?” the girl panicked, looking around to see how much ice cream others had left.

“I don’t know. We just go by memory,” Rico shrugged.

“You have thirty seconds left,” Nicholas’ voice startled them all. In a flurry of movement, the contestants grabbed their boards and scribbled down their answers before the time ran out.

“And that’s it. Your time is up. Please stop writing,” Nicholas said. “I said stop writing, Troy!”

“We’re done!” the actor quickly dropped his marker, shooting a big grin at the host. He could usually get away with things by being cute, so he was hoping the same strategy would work on the show host.

“Ok, then. One person from each pair, please raise your boards and show us your answers.”

Clementine was first, confidently putting her board up and revealing what she had written: 1. Peach + Vanilla, 2. Mango + Pistachio, 3. Pineapple + Cookie Dough.

Samson and Eric’s board was a little different: 1. Vanilla + Pineapple, 2. Peach + Pistachio, 3. Mango + Cookie Dough.

Kelly and Troy’s board – filled with several crossed-out words and the actor’s messy handwriting – had the following answers: 1. Mango + Vanilla, 2. Cookie Dough + Peach, 3. Pistachio + Pineapple.

Tiffany lifted her team’s board lifelessly, looking as if she had zero confidence in their answers: 1. Cookie Dough + Peach, 2. Mango + Pistachio, 3. Vanilla + Pineapple.

“Looks like your taste buds got frozen, because everyone seems to have a different answer. But are any of them correct?” the host said, looking over at the sheet in his hand as he made a dramatic pause that seemed to go on forever. “The correct combos are: 1. Mango + Vanilla…”

“I knew it!” Marcus blurted out, cutting him off. “Sorry, continue.”

“2. Peach + Pistachio, and 3. Pineapple + Cookie Dough,” Nicholas revealed the answers, to a collective groan of defeat from the entire group.

“Oh, come on! I can’t believe we got these two mixed up,” Eric grumbled as he stared at the board. “Fucking pineapple!”

“This was too hard,” Tiffany whined, looking at the host with her best puppy eyes. “Can’t you give us another chance?”

“What, you want us to whip up three more batches of ice cream for you?”

“Well, I wouldn’t complain,” Rico cut in, grabbing his spoon.

“Can’t you at least give us partial points? I mean, you’re not gonna leave us all with zero points, are you, Nicholas? Are you?!” Samson pleaded, joining the puppy eye club.

A few moments later, after brief consultations with the crew, Nicholas nodded. “Alright, we’ll give you two points for each combination you guessed correctly. That means… Marcus and Clementine, Troy and Kelly, and Samson and Eric, you get two points each. Tiffany and Rico, I’m sorry, but you didn’t get any of the three combinations, so you still get zero.”

“Fair enough,” the basketball player shrugged, clearly over the ice cream challenge. “Bring on the next game!”

“Rico, your wish is my command,” the host replied as the crew started clearing out the tables. “I hope you’re not afraid of some intimacy, because in the next game you’ll have to get a lot more up close and personal with your partner!”