The Playground - 6. ?!?

A knock on the door surprised Clementine as she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom, putting on her morning face cream. Curious, she walked over and turned the knob.

“Hey, Clementine, can I come in for a second?” Kelly stood at the door.

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“Ugh, a lot,” the singer shook her head, an irritated look on her face. “Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You did great yesterday, but um… it wasn’t so great for me,” the girl frowned. “I don’t know if it was just bad luck or what, but it was horrible. At one point, I really thought I was going to get eliminated.”

“Well, that’s possible for all of us,” the chef stated the obvious.

“I know, which is why I wanted to see if you’d be willing to make a pact.”

Clementine’s face did not betray any emotions. She simply raised an eyebrow as she observed the younger woman in front of her, waiting for her to continue. “A pact?”

“Yeah, to help each other out. Like, for example, if we get games where we can cooperate, we agree that we’ll help each other. Or if one of us is up for elimination and we have the power of voting like the other day, we’ll vote to save each other. I know only one of us can win, and we’re both competitive, but at least we can both reach the finals. What do you say?”

The chef stood silently for a few moments, mulling over the proposition. “Why me? How do I know you didn’t make this deal with everyone else?”

“Oh please, as if I would stoop that low,” Kelly rolled her eyes. “I only came to you because I can tell you’re taking this as seriously as I am. And you’re not annoying like Eric.”

The older woman still did not seem convinced. She pursed her lips, eyeing the girl, before she finally spoke: “Kelly, I intend to play this fair and square…”

“Of course, I’m not asking you to cheat,” Kelly quickly interrupted her, trying to explain. “I’m just saying, we could help each other out if we’re able to. So, do we have a deal?”

***

It was a day like any other. After a light breakfast, the seven remaining contestants spent some time either lounging by the pool, swimming, or relaxing in the air-conditioned comfort of the Mansion. After lunch, it was time for a new round of games, which everyone seemed eager for.

“Does anyone have any clue what we’ll be doing today?” Marcus asked after everyone gathered in the lounge.

“No, I just hope it’s something relaxing,” Tiffany replied.

“Looks like we’re about to find out,” Eric nodded at the show host, who was just entering the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I see you’re all ready and itching to play some games. Today’s round will be played in the gaming room in the basement,” Nicholas explained.

“Oh, is that why there was that sign ‘Room flooded, keep out’ on the door?” Troy asked. “I wanted to do some gaming after breakfast.”

Samson glanced over at the actor, feeling his cheeks heat up as he recalled what they did the previous night. “Yeah, I could tell something was off.”

“That’s right, we were setting everything up, but now it’s ready, so we can start,” the host replied, leading everyone down the stairs.

As everyone walked into the large gaming room, it was obvious things were very different than usual. Most of the furniture and gaming equipment was moved against the walls, leaving a large middle area empty. Two sofas and two armchairs were placed in the center of the room for the contestants to sit. Opposite them, on the far side of the room, were the camera crew and all of their equipment.

“Ok, so what are we doing here?” Kelly asked as she stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the host, while others went to sit down or inspect the room.

Instead of explaining things like he usually would, Nicholas simply walked over to the camera crew and sat down on one of the chairs before casually picking up some papers from a small table nearby.

“Your mission today is to get as many points as possible. The two people with the fewest points will be up for elimination. Eric and Samson, as yesterday’s winners, you start today with plus five points,” Nicholas stated briefly.

“Um, ok, and what exactly are we playing here, honey?” Samson asked.

“Yeah, I think you lost a part of your script, man,” Eric added with a chuckle.

However, no further explanation came, and the contestants were left to wait in silence for a few moments.

“I suppose we’ll find out eventually,” Clementine said, trying to be a voice of reason. “Perhaps we have to figure it out on our own? Maybe look for clues around the room?”

“That definitely sounds like something they’d pull on us,” Troy mused as he looked around the room. Nothing seemed to stand out, but then again, there were so many things inside – furniture, equipment, games – it was hard to tell if anything was out of place.

Marcus seemed to have the same idea, inspecting the room for any hints. As his eyes fell upon the large TV on the wall, he suddenly got startled as the screen lit up, showing the words “YOU GOT MY NUMBER”.

Suddenly, everyone’s attention turned to the TV screen.

“Must be some sort of a riddle,” Clementine concluded. “Maybe the answer is one of us?”

“Or maybe we have to rearrange the letters,” Kelly mused.

“Baby you got my number, you can call me anytime you’re down…” Samson casually burst into song, remembering hearing it on the radio hundreds of times a few years ago. It was a big hit by a Korean boyband ‘A to Z’.

A loud ‘ding’ sound could be heard, as the TV screen changed to show a table with everyone’s names and scores.

“Plus five points for Samson,” Nicholas spoke into the mic as the table updated, Samson’s name shooting to the top of the list.

“Nice!” the singer exclaimed happily.

“Damn, I won’t be good at this,” Eric muttered. “I don’t listen to music that much.”

“I doubt that’s the only thing we’ll play,” Clementine replied.

Just then, a crew member lobbed a small, black ball towards the contestants. While some of them stood frozen in surprise, Eric automatically jumped and caught it before it could hit the ground.

“TEN… NINE… EIGHT…” A robotic voice could be heard over the speakers, counting down.

Eric quickly dropped the ball as if it was made of lava, but as soon as he did, the countdown stopped.

“Ok, now what?” Tiffany asked, cautiously eyeing the ball. Everyone did the same, standing rooted in place and observing the ball as if it was going to blow up.

“I don’t know, but if it’s counting down to zero, it can’t be good,” the NFL player concluded.

“But it stopped,” Marcus noticed. “Hmm, let’s see.” The dancer bent down to pick up the ball, and as soon as he did, the voice spoke again.

“SEVEN… SIX… FIVE…”

Marcus quickly threw the ball over to Troy.

“FOUR… THREE… TWO…”

Looking around, the actor threw the ball over to Kelly at the last second, who caught it without thinking.

“ONE.”

Another ‘ding’ sound, and the scoreboard appeared again.

“Plus ten points for Kelly.”

“Hah! Serves you right for being scaredy cats,” the singer gloated, throwing the ball high in the air before catching it again.

“Man, how were we supposed to know,” Eric groaned. “I thought it was like a ticking time bomb.”

“Me too,” Tiffany agreed. “Gosh, who knows what they’re gonna throw at us next.”

“Whatever it is, I need to do better,” Clementine muttered to herself, starting to feel concerned for the first time since she came on the show. Her name was last on the scoreboard with zero points, and she began to feel doubt creep into her mind. The games that day were certainly not in her favor, as they were all about quick thinking and fast reflexes rather than discipline and hard work.

As the contestants started discussing other potential games, they didn’t even notice a faint chirping sound coming from somewhere in the room.

“Guys, shhh! Listen,” Kelly said, lifting a finger to her lips. “Is that a bird?”

“Is that a nightingale? A robin?” Clementine asked, trying to guess the name of the bird by its song. It was the first thing that came to her. The rest of the contestants quickly started doing the same, naming any bird they could think of.

“Seagull!”

“Sparrow!”

“Dodo!”

“Really, Tiff, a dodo?” Marcus rolled his eyes at the TV star. “Do you know what it sounds like?”

“I don’t know, I’m just saying the first thing that comes to mind!”

While the rest of the group was busy naming birds, Troy slowly crept over to the area where the noise was coming from. On a shelf stacked with DVDs, there was a small plastic figurine of a bird hidden behind the movies.

“A-ha!” he suddenly shouted, holding the plastic bird high in the air. He flipped a switch on its back, turning off the sound.

With another ‘ding’, the scoreboard appeared again as the other contestants sighed, realizing they had failed.

“Plus five points for Troy.”

“Damn, good job, man,” Eric said. “We were completely off.”

As soon as the scoreboard vanished from the screen, it was replaced by a single word – TITANIC. This time, Kelly didn’t waste a single moment and started to sing.

“Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on…”

Everyone stood quietly, waiting for the ding, but it didn’t come.

“What now? That’s the Titanic theme song,” Kelly asked.

All of a sudden, Troy moved to stand next to Samson, giving him a cheeky smile. “Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls.”

Ding!

“Plus five points for Troy.”

“Oh my God, you’re on a roll!” Samson burst out laughing, giving the actor a high-five.

“I just thought why the hell not,” Troy shrugged.

“Well, you thought well!”

“Ok, no more messing around,” Eric said as he cracked his knuckles, determination in his eyes. “I am now ready for anything. Bring it on!”

“Well, you asked for it,” Marcus said as he pointed up, noticing a drone flying high above them, carrying a red balloon. As it reached the center of the room, the balloon suddenly popped, showering the group in confetti.

“What the hell!” Tiffany shouted as she looked around, watching the confetti fall. “There’s some letters on some of them!”

Everyone dropped down to the floor, picking up handfuls of confetti, inspecting them, when suddenly Samson noticed a new message on the TV screen: “SPELL YOUR NAME”.

“Well, I hope it means what I think it means this time,” he shrugged as he scoured the small pieces of paper, looking for letters of his name.

“Well, this is just unfair. My name is the longest,” Clementine complained. It seemed like yet another game she would not do well in.

“A true master doesn’t blame his tools,” Eric couldn’t pass the opportunity to rile her up, quoting the chef’s own words from the other day. He was already holding an E and a C in one hand, frantically searching for the other two letters.

“Come on, come on, I need a Y,” Tiffany muttered as she dragged her hand across the carpet, going through the confetti that covered it.

“And done!” Eric suddenly shot back up, opening his palm and showing four bits of round paper spelling his name.

Ding!

“Ten points for Eric.”

“Hell yeah, now we’re talking!” the quarterback did a fist-pump as the rest of the group pulled themselves off the ground.

“Damn, I’m so unlucky today!” Marcus grumbled, letting the confetti fall from his hand to the ground, just one letter away from completing his name. He glanced at the scoreboard with a frown, noticing his name near the bottom. It was not a good day for him, but he wouldn’t let himself be defeated just yet. “At least I don’t have to clean all this later,” he added, observing the mess all over the room.

Everyone plopped back down onto their seats, hoping to catch their breath before the next challenge was sprung upon them. They didn’t have to wait long, as just a few moments later, another small ball, but this time red in color, was thrown their way. This time, it was Tiffany who was the fastest. She bolted from her seat on the sofa and grabbed the ball with both hands.

“Got it!”

“Damn, girl, you should join my team,” Eric watched her, impressed.

“TEN… NINE…” the same robotic voice from a while ago sounded again. Everyone looked expectantly at the girl, waiting for her to pass the ball to someone, but she seemed to have other plans.

“No way,” she shook her head and ran off to the far corner of the room.

“EIGHT… SEVEN… SIX…”

“Oh no, you don’t!” the quarterback realized what game she was playing and chased after her, while the rest of the group ambushed her from the other side. Surrounded and with nowhere to run, the girl dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball, holding the red object firmly in her hands.

“FIVE… FOUR…”

The few contestants who were the fastest threw themselves at her, poking and grabbing at her from all sides, trying to get her to give up the ball.

“Give it up!”

“Oww, that’s my boob!”

“THREE… TWO… ONE.”

“Got it!” Clementine shouted victoriously as she managed to rip the ball out of the girl’s clutches at the last second, holding it high in the air.

After another ‘ding’, the scoreboard appeared again, and the chef’s name remained firmly at the bottom.

“Minus ten points for Clementine.”

“Oh, come on!” the chef threw the ball in a rare moment of anger.

“Looks like it was a ticking time bomb this time,” Troy noted.

With everyone getting more worked up, they returned to the center of the room, but instead of sitting down, they stayed on their feet, trying to anticipate what the next challenge would be.

The names on the scoreboard kept shuffling as the games went on, and it wasn’t until a good half an hour later that Nicholas finally announced the end of games for that day. The final tally appeared on the TV screen, which had Clementine, Marcus and Tiffany dejectedly slumping into their seats.

“Ugh, this was bullshit,” the dancer muttered, annoyed at his poor performance.

“Tell me about it,” Tiffany moaned in agreement. She had only managed to scrounge up some points in the later stages of the game, but that didn’t help her much.

Clementine, on the other hand, simply stared off into the distance after taking just one look at the scoreboard. She seemed to be silently simmering and no one dared talk to her.

“Congratulations, Troy! You’ve collected forty points and are the winner of today’s games. As a reward, you get to choose today’s dinner for everyone. Whatever you want, our chefs will prepare it for you,” the host took it upon himself to read the results out loud even though everyone could already see them. “Kelly came in second with thirty-seven, Samson and Eric share the third spot with thirty-two. Next up is Tiffany with twenty points, Marcus with fifteen, and Clementine with ten.”

Samson looked over at Troy, giving him a thumbs up and a smile. “Congrats!”

“Thanks,” the actor sent him a cheeky smile in return.

“This means that, as the two contestants with the fewest points, Clementine and Marcus are up for elimination. This time, the power is in your hands. The remaining five will now go and vote for who they want to keep in the Mansion,” the host announced as the group silently traded glances.

Clementine’s eyes darted over to Kelly, wondering if she would honor their agreement from earlier that morning and vote to save her. As the singer walked out of the room to cast her vote, she gave her a quick nod in return. Somewhat calmed, the older woman wondered if anyone else would be on her side. She knew it would certainly not be Eric, as they didn’t exactly get on. Samson seemed to have some history with Marcus, but was that a good or a bad thing, she wasn’t sure. As for the others, she just couldn’t tell. Ultimately, there was nothing she could do about it anymore.

Marcus was equally silent and lost in thought. He was angry at himself for not having played better, but also sad about the possibility of leaving the show early and not reaching the finals. He knew his family and boyfriend Ash would be proud of him even if he lost, but it was something he wanted to do for himself. Even if he didn’t win, at least he wanted to be there until the very end.

It wasn’t long before the five contestants had voted and returned to the gaming room to hear the results. There was complete silence in the room as the host walked over and stood before the group of seven.

“Marcus and Clementine, you’ve both played very well over these past few days, and it’ll be a real shame to see either of you go. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say we’ll miss whoever leaves the Mansion today. Unfortunately, such are the rules. Our lovely five have cast their votes, and this is what they decided,” Nicholas began his big announcement, making dramatic pauses after every sentence. “Marcus, I’m sorry to say… that you won’t be getting rid of us that easily. You’re staying in the Mansion!”

The dancer let out a relieved sigh, feeling twenty pounds lighter. As he looked up, he was surprised to see Samson giving him a small wink. He had fully expected the singer not to save him as the two had had their rivalry issues in the past. But perhaps that was exactly what worked in his favor - maybe Samson decided that keeping his old rival in the game would make it more fun.

“Sadly, that means that we have to say goodbye to Clementine. You’ve been a wonderful contestant, and we were so happy to have you,” the host finished his announcement as the group gathered around the chef, giving her comforting hugs. Even Eric stood nearby, waiting for his turn to give her a handshake and a nod.

“You’ve been great competition,” he said as they shook hands, to the astonishment of everyone in the room.

“Thank you, so were you,” she replied with a courteous nod. “Good luck.”

“Miracles do happen,” Troy whispered as he watched them, drawing quiet cackles out of Tiffany and Samson.

***

After seeing Clementine off, the remaining six contestants each went their own way. While Troy and Samson decided to spend the warm evening by the pool, Kelly went upstairs to her bedroom to get ready for an early night in. Eric walked over to the gym, deciding to do a quick late workout.

Marcus, on the other hand, found himself slumped in a beanbag in the lounge, still mulling over his near-elimination. Even though he ended up being saved, it still felt scary to know he was almost voted out.

“Hey, what’s up?” the dancer was surprised by the familiar high-pitched voice behind him. He turned around to see Tiffany approaching, sitting down on the sofa next to him, carrying two glasses.

“Here, brought you some fruit juice,” she handed him one of the glasses. “Don’t worry, I put something extra to give it a kick.”

Marcus nodded approvingly as he took a sip, tasting some rum. “Mmm, just what I needed. Thanks, Tiff.”

“No problem, babe. So how are you doing? I know what it’s like to almost be dumped. It’s no fun, huh?”

“You can say that again,” he replied, shaking his head.

“I’m here if you wanna talk. You and the others were really nice to me yesterday when I was in the bottom two, and I wanted to be there for you too.”

“Thanks, girl, that’s so sweet of you,” Marcus replied before falling into silence again. It wasn’t until a minute later that he spoke again. “It’s silly, but I really got sad for a moment, thinking I was going home. I wasn’t ready for this to be over.”

“I know how you feel. And I’m not even competitive!” the girl replied.

“I am,” he let out a chuckle. “I really hate the thought of losing. You know, when I was on Dancing with Celebs, I didn’t think about winning that much. I was just too focused on the performances. It was all about dancing, which is my life. But here, I really want to do even better. I love being a dancer, but I feel like this is my chance to have a moment to shine, to show I can do something else too.”

“I think you’ve already done that, hun,” Tiffany cooed. “I bet the viewers love watching you. I know I would have way less fun if you weren’t around.”

“Right back at ya, girl. I’m glad we met.”

“I hope we make it all the way. I don’t know if I’m good enough to win, but like you said, I want to prove I can do this. I know some people think I’m not really good at anything and that I accept all TV offers just for fame or money or whatever… But that’s not true. I actually had a lot of offers that I rejected because I didn’t think they were a good fit for me. But this show is something I really wanted to do.”

“Good for you, I’m glad you decided to do this,” Marcus smiled, patting her arm. “And definitely don’t listen to the haters, ok? I’ve had my fair share of them. Sometimes it’s hard to tune them out, but with the right people beside you, it gets easier.”

“What?! Why would anyone hate on you?”

“Eh, I don’t want to burden you with details, but I guess it comes with the territory when you’re dating a famous boyband member. It’s much better now, though. Ash and I are strong and we know what’s real and what’s not.”

“Aw, I’m happy to hear that, babe. And you know I’ll fight anyone who dares to bother you!”

“I’m glad to have you in my corner, Tiff. It goes both ways, you know.”

After their heart-to-heart, Tiffany went back to the kitchen to put the glasses in the sink, deciding to give them a quick wash instead of leaving them for the morning. She then made her way upstairs, ready to go to her room, but just as she climbed the stairs, she noticed a figure slipping into Kelly’s bedroom at the very end of the dim hallway. She couldn’t catch their face, but whoever it was, they were too tall to be the petite five-foot-four singer.

With a quiet gasp, Tiffany froze on the spot as realization hit her.

“Could it be…?”