The Playground - 9. Finale, pt. 1

It was the morning of the grand finals, the last day at the Playground Mansion. With only four contestants remaining, the grand residence felt emptier than ever. Still, the tradition of having their meals together went uninterrupted, as all four celebrities came to the kitchen at the same time to have their breakfast.

Even though seeing Eric was the last thing he wanted, Samson decided to show up anyway. He couldn’t stop thinking about Eric’s confession from the night before, how the athlete played them all and managed to weasel his way to the finals. It was infuriating, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He was determined to stay unbothered, or at least do his best to pretend, but he would not give Eric any more satisfaction of showing just how angry he was.

Chatting with Marcus and Tiffany, the singer prepared his cereal while trying to ignore the quarterback’s presence at the kitchen island right next to him.

Eric, meanwhile, was completely unfazed. He was devouring his sausages and eggs in good spirits, happy as a clam that he was in the finals with what he believed was a good chance to win.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving,” he said as he ate his meal. “Slept like a baby, now I just need a big breakfast.”

“Ugh, lucky! I could barely sleep, I was so nervous about today,” Tiffany complained, sitting on a barstool and spreading jam on a piece of warm toast. Even though she looked tired, that did not stop her from finishing two pieces of toast and downing a glass of orange juice in record speed. “Are you guys not nervous at all?”

“Not really. I’m actually excited,” Marcus replied. “Strangely enough, I was more nervous the first few days even though I had much lower odds of being eliminated then. I guess now I’m in the finals, so that’s already one goal down. If I win, that’s just gonna be the cherry on top.”

“If you win? You mean you’re no longer sure about it?” Samson couldn’t help but poke fun at the dancer.

“Oh, I’m fully confident I’m gonna win, I just didn’t want to rain on your parade.”

“Don’t you worry about me, honey. It takes more than that to rattle me.”

“Marcus, my man,” Eric decided to cut in, “sorry to break it to you, but you’re gonna need more than just confidence to win.”

“Hah! You should talk.”

“Guys, I just realized something,” Tiffany interrupted the boys’ argument, slamming a hand against the kitchen counter as if she had a major breakthrough to share. “Samson is the only one of us who’s never been up for elimination. The rest of us were all in the bottom two at some point, right?”

“That’s true!” Samson perked up at the realization. “They might as well hand me the trophy now.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re all very funny,” Eric chimed in as he got up and took his plate and utensils to the sink to give them a rinse. “But I wanna get a quick workout in. Gotta get that blood pumping and heart rate going.”

After the quarterback went to the gym and Samson left to lay by the pool, that left Tiffany and Marcus alone in the Mansion. Having finished breakfast, the pair moved to the gaming room. The dancer was eager to play some pool to pass the time, and Tiffany was easy to convince. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to be alone with her thoughts.

“You still nervous?” Marcus didn’t beat around the bush. “It’s been two minutes and you haven’t screamed once.”

“Hey! I don’t do that… not that much anyway,” the girl slapped his arm as he arranged the balls on the pool table. “But yeah, babes, I’m a total mess.”

“Why? You’ve made it this far.”

“That’s exactly why! I never thought I would. Everyone’s always telling me ‘oh, you’re the underdog’, but that just means ‘oh, you’re shit’. Even my sisters, they made a bet that I wouldn’t last more than a day. I know they were just teasing, but what if they weren’t? When you listen to something long enough, you start believing it yourself. I never even thought I’d get here, so now I’m kinda freaking out.”

“Babe, you’re here for a reason, just like the rest of us. You were just… better than the rest.”

“Yeah, right! I just got lucky.”

“Then maybe you’ll get lucky today as well?” Marcus said. “I mean, not if I have anything to say about it, but you never know. It all depends on the games, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tiffany replied, considering his words. “How you so calm, though? Are you really not nervous at all?”

“I guess I am a little, but it’s the good kind of nervous. You know, when this all started, I thought people like Rico, Kelly, or maybe even Clementine were going all the way for sure. But they’re all gone now, and I’m still here. And when I think back, I really did well in all the games – or most of them. So I’m feeling pretty good about my chances.”

“Babe, you should bottle that confidence and sell it. I’d buy it!”

The pair had barely managed to finish two games of pool when they were summoned to the lounge. When they arrived, Samson and Eric were just entering the room as well, followed by Nicholas Stone.

“Finalists, I hope you’re feeling ready, because today we’ve got a treat for you. Today’s round of games won’t be held here at the Mansion. Instead, we’re taking you someplace special. You have fifteen minutes to go change into something comfortable. A limo will be waiting for you at the gate. Well, what are you waiting for? Go!”

The four contestants practically ran upstairs to their bedrooms to get ready. After a change of clothes and a quick look in the mirror, Samson was already out the door and zooming towards the black limo parked in front of the Mansion’s golden gate. As he jumped into the back seat, he could see the other three running over as if they were racing each other.

“Tiff, gurl, I saved you a-“

Before Samson could even finish his thought, Eric had bounced into the luxury vehicle, making sure to claim the seat right next to the singer. With a grin on his face, the athlete put an arm around Samson’s shoulders, getting far closer than necessary. If there was one thing he was good at, it was getting into people’s heads.

“Looks like we’re travel buddies, Sammy!”

“Yay,” Samson deadpanned just as Marcus and Tiffany filed in, taking their seats.

As much as the singer wanted to grab Eric’s arm and tell him where to shove it, he could see two cameras set up and recording. He was not about to pull a Kelly and throw a fit in his final episode.

Nicholas was the last to enter the limo, casually walking in and taking a seat opposite the four stars.

“Lay it on us, Nicky! Where are we going?” Eric asked all excited. Nothing could ruin his good mood that day.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be a long drive,” the host said. “But I’m not just going to tell you where we’re going. If you want me to give you hints, you’ll have to earn them.”

“Ok, how?” Marcus asked.

“By playing a game. I’ll ask you questions about each other. If you answer correctly, I’ll give you a hint,” the other man replied, pulling out his notes from his inside pocket. With everyone’s eager agreement, the pop quiz could start. “Alright, Tiffany, the first question is for you, so listen up: What is the name of Samson’s debut single?”

The girl opened her mouth wide, staring at Samson. She had no clue.

“Oh my God! I should know this! Uhh… is it Stronger? Message in a Bottle? Time for You? Over the Moon?”

“Some of those aren’t even my songs!” Samson cut her off. “Gurl, honestly…”

“I’m afraid not. The answer is Invisible. No hints so far,” Nicholas said. “Samson, the next question is for you. What place did Marcus win in Dancing with Celebs?”

“Well, I know for sure it wasn’t first,” the singer said, stroking his chin and pretending to think.

“Very funny,” the dancer replied.

“Second place. How could I forget when he won’t shut up about it,” Samson answered confidently.

“Correct! You’ve earned your first hint: We are going for a thirty-minute drive to the west.”

“Hmm, what’s to the west?” Tiffany wondered out loud as everyone started sharing theories on where they could be going. In the end, no one could figure out their actual destination.

“Alright, then, third question is for Marcus,” the host continued. “What is Eric’s jersey number?”

“Uhhh,” the dancer was stumped. He had seen the athlete wearing that jersey almost every day, but now that he was actually supposed to recall the numbers, his mind went black. He quickly leaned over to look at Eric, but of course, he was wearing a plain red tank top this time.

“How do you not remember this?” Eric asked, laughing.

“Oh, come on, you spend more time shirtless than dressed.”

“Well, sue me for giving you guys some eye candy.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure its eig- wait, twenty-eight!”

“That is correct.”

“Yess!” Marcus grinned triumphantly.

“Your next hint is: you’ll know what it is as soon as we park the car.”

“What kind of a hint is that? That’s a riddle,” Tiffany groaned, unhappy with the useless hint.

“Sorry, but that’s what you get. The next one should be better if you get the next question right. Eric, this one’s for you: When is Tiffany’s birthday?”

The athlete felt dumbfounded. The question seemed so simple, yet he had no clue. All eyes were on him as everyone waited with bated breath to hear what he would say. Next to him, Marcus put a hand over his mouth, trying to whisper something that sounded an awful lot like ‘thrmay’.

“Umm… today?”

“Third of May!” Marcus shouted, smacking him on the leg. “It’s the third of May, right?” he quickly turned to Tiffany for confirmation.

“Yeah,” the girl nodded. “At least someone knows.”

“Can we still get that hint?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, Marcus answered correctly,” Samson joined in. “I also knew the answer, and so did Tiffany. That’s three out of four. I think that deserves a hint. Come on, Nicholas, think of everything we’ve been through together on this show!”

“Fine,” the host relented. “Your final hint is: some of you may have daydreamed about going there.”

“Oh! Daydream! The theme park!” Tiffany exclaimed, her excitement levels suddenly spiking. “Is it the theme park?!”

“That’s correct, we’re going to the theme park. It’ll be closed today, except for us. That’s where you’ll play the final round of games.”

***

For the rest of the short ride, the four celebrities tried to guess which theme park games they would have to play. Of course, as none of them had ever been there, and Nicholas was as unhelpful as ever, they didn’t get any closer to finding out what exactly they’d be doing. Luckily for them, the ride was soon over. As they stepped out of the limo, the vast theme park stretched out in front of them, with colorful stands, tents and rollercoaster rides covering the area. The crew was already set up with cameras on every corner.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are finally here at the Daydream Theme Park for the final day of The Playground! I’m here with our four amazing finalists: Tiffany Sky, Samson Flynn, Eric Collins and Marcus Knight,” the host began his announcement as he stood at the gates of the park, before turning to the four contestants. “I hope you’re ready to give it your all. Now, let me explain the rules. There are seven games you can play at the park. You’ll see their locations marked with a big yellow star, like that one,” he pointed to a nearby stand with a big star-shaped sticker placed on top of it.

Several crew members then came over and handed each contestant a little pouch.

“You can play each game as many times as you want, but you have to pay a ticket each time. You have eight tickets in those pouches, but you can find more hidden around the park. You can also find special Boost Tickets that you can exchange for Boosts at that stand. They will help you in some way or another. Whenever you play a game, you’ll be timed. In the end, whoever has the first place in the majority of games will be the winner. Any questions?”

“Yes! How long do we have for this?” Samson asked.

“You have two hours starting from… Now!”

Quick as lightning, Eric and Samson ran to opposite ends of the park, looking around for games to play.

Meanwhile, Marcus casually strolled down one of the paths, deciding to take it slowly at first. He already had a strategy in mind.

“I don’t wanna tire myself out,” he said to one of the camera crew following him around.

Tiffany, on the other hand, still stood awkwardly at the gates, looking around the place. She finally turned back to the host: “Can you repeat the rules again?”

***

It wasn’t long before Eric found his first game – a small, yellow stand with the sign ‘Mini-Golf’ above it.

“Ok, I’m down for this,” he quickly pulled out a ticket from his pouch and gave it to the woman attending the stand.

She led him behind the stand and into the playing area, handing him a miniature golf club that looked more like a children’s toy than a proper piece of equipment. Eric carefully took it in his large hands, afraid he would break it. He looked around, feeling like he was being pranked.

“I have to use this?!”

“It’s called mini golf for a reason,” the woman simply shrugged at him before pointing him towards his challenge: a mini windmill with rotating blades and a small hole at the bottom, with a winding path in front of it. A marble-sized version of a golf ball lay on the ground, waiting to be hit.

“Where’s the ball?”

“I believe you just stepped on it.”

“Shit!” Eric moved and looked around, noticing a squished white ball where his foot was just a moment ago. “Sorry… I can’t believe this.”

“That’s alright, we have extras,” the woman chuckled, supplying him with a new ball.

After a beep signifying the time, the quarterback swung the plastic golf club. The ball started rolling, but quickly went off-course.

“Oh shit,” he muttered, running after the ball before hitting it again in an attempt to get it back on track.

After a few more tries, he finally managed to get it into the hole.

“How did I do?” he asked, turning to the woman.

She held out the stopwatch, showing him the time: 00:47.14.

“Forty-seven seconds?! You sure that thing is working properly?” he grumbled as he wrote his time on the scoreboard next to his name. “I wanna do this again,” he added, pulling out a ticket, but just before handing it over, he drew his hand back. “Wait, no, I wanna see the other games first. I’ll come back later.”

***

On the other side of the park, Samson was on his own mission - defeat Eric at all costs. With a look of fierce concentration, he marched ahead, trying to find challenges to complete. As soon as he saw a marked area, he ran over, realizing it was a cake-selling stand.

“Ooh, is it a cake eating challenge?” he asked with excitement, already devouring the colorful desserts with his eyes.

“No, it’s a cake decorating challenge. You have to decorate a cake to match the one in the photo,” the young girl attending the stand explained.

“Ok, I’ll do it!”

“Great, here’s the photo. You can look at it for ten seconds,” the girl said. While Samson was inspecting the provided picture, she placed a plain round cake before him, next to some decorating supplies. “Ok, your time is up,” she said, snatching the photo from his hands.

“What? Already?! But it hasn’t been ten seconds yet, has it? Let me just have another quick look,” the singer begged, giving the girl his best puppy eyes. He’d already forgotten the details on the cake. “Just two seconds? One second? Just quickly flip it over? Oh fine!”

Pursing his lips in dissatisfaction, Samson got to work, grabbing the piping bag and decorating the cake from memory; he knew there was icing on top. He then took a small container with edible glitter and liberally sprinkled them all over the top, finishing it off with three pink flowers.

“There, done!”

“I’m afraid you’ve failed,” the girl offered him a comforting look.

“What?! How?”

“You forgot the icing on the bottom,” she showed him the photo again, pointing out icing decorations along the bottom edge of the cake.

“That’s because you stole the picture from me!” the singer pouted. “I wanna try again.”

He quickly handed the girl another ticket, receiving a photo of a cake in return.

“Wait, this is a different cake!”

“That’s right, you get a different photo every time.”

“Oh, you mother-” the singer bit his lip as he considered his options. “You know what?”

He suddenly threw the photo in the girl’s face, and while she scrambled to catch it, he snatched his ticket from the counter before running off down the path, giggling like a little kid.

***

Marcus took a path along the edge of the park, walking slowly and looking around for hidden tickets.

“Should I search for tickets or go play games first?” he wondered out loud. It was then that he came across his first mission area. “Oh, might as well spend some of the ones I already have.”

When he approached the marked area, he saw a limbo set in place.

“Hello, would you like to try the limbo challenge?” the young man standing nearby asked.

“Sure, why not?”

“Alright. Your mission is to pass under the pole… while wearing roller skates,” the man explained, showing a selection of roller skates of different sizes off to the side.

Marcus stopped in his tracks, his confidence suddenly taking a small hit. He eyed the limbo pole, trying to gauge its height and whether he’d be able to do it. There was a scoreboard next to it, showing Samson in first place and Eric in second. That was all it took for him to make up his mind.

“Hm, if they could do it, so can I. Ok, I’m in,” he decided, handing over a ticket and choosing a pair of roller skates. Once he put them on, he skated over.

With a beep, the other man started the stopwatch.

Marcus slowly approached the limbo pole, leaning backwards as he bent his knees. Suddenly, he could feel himself losing balance.

“Wooow,” he started flailing his arms wildly before falling flat on his ass. “This is harder than it looks,” he couldn’t help but chuckle as the crew member helped him up. “Did the others fall while doing this?”

“Quite a few times.”

“Ah, ok,” the dancer smiled, already feeling better. On his second attempt, he came closer, almost managing to skate under the pole, but ended up falling again. Undeterred, he tried again, barely managing to pass on his third try before falling to his knees.

“Yess!” he celebrated as he picked himself up before looking over at the stopwatch in the other man’s hand: 00:42.16.

“Not bad,” he quickly wrote down his time on the scoreboard. He wasn’t particularly happy with how he did, but it earned him second place, just behind Samson - at least for the time being.

Just then, a brilliant idea struck him. He glanced over at the cameraman and gave him a conspiratorial wink before removing his roller skates and handing them to the young man tending to the stand.

“Maybe I should’ve worn smaller ones, these felt too loose. Can you check if you’ve got a size smaller?”

While the other man turned to check the other roller skates, Marcus quickly lowered the limbo pole by one notch.

“Never mind, I’ll come back!” the dancer said as he ran off, holding in his laughter.

***

A small red tent drew Tiffany’s attention on her walk through the park. She stopped in front of it, noticing a big yellow star on it.

“Is this it?” she asked the cameraman walking behind her.

“Yes, that’s one of the missions.”

“Ok!” the girl clapped her hands in excitement. “How fun! Let’s go in!”

A short, middle-aged woman not unlike Clementine greeted her inside the tent, showing her around. The place was arranged to look like a mini boutique, with several racks of jackets, sweaters and other clothing items. There was even a big pile of clothes on the floor.

“This is a fashion challenge. You’ll get a list of items, and you have to find them as quickly as you can.”

“Ooh, that sounds right up my alley! I’ll do it,” Tiffany said. She handed over a ticket and got a small card in return, with the following words neatly printed: EXTRA SMALL BOMBER JACKET, BLACK AND RED T-SHIRT, WOOL SCARF.

“A wool scarf with a bomber jacket? Who would wear that?” she made a disgusted face as she turned to the racks overflowing with clothes. “Oh my God, where do I even start?”

Slowly, the TV star began her search, browsing through all the racks one by one. A t-shirt with black and red stripes was the first item she found, standing out among other summer items.

“This looks like something Marcus would wear,” she mumbled to herself as she continued her search.

As if completely forgetting about the clock ticking, she went through the jacket section, inspecting the labels one by one until she finally found an XS bomber jacket. All that was left was a wool scarf, which turned out to be the trickiest item of them all. It was nowhere to be found on the clothing racks. It wasn’t until she turned around that she remembered there was a big pile of clothes on the floor. Dropping down to her knees, she rummaged through the mess until she finally fished out the third item, victoriously holding it high in the air.

“Done! I got all three!”

“Well done,” the older lady said, showing Tiffany the time – 02:12.37.

“Oh, right, I totally forgot I was being timed,” the girl sighed as she wrote her time next to her name on the scoreboard. She was now in second place, behind Samson, while Eric was third. “Ugh, I could’ve done way better if I’d just hurried up. Oh well, I can always try again.”

Meanwhile, Marcus was passing by a rollercoaster, wishing he could ride it. It was then that he noticed a familiar light-green card sticking out from one of the seats.

“A ticket! Gimme!” he quickly snatched it from its hiding place, ready to put it in his pouch. “Wait, what’s this?”

He then noticed a similar, multi-colored ticket hidden nearby, quickly snatching it.

“That’s a Boost Ticket,” the cameraman reminded him. “You can exchange it at the stand near the entrance.”

“Oh, right! Let’s go do that now,” the dancer turned on his heels and went back in the direction he came from. As he passed the limbo area, he snickered as he noticed Eric trying to pass under the pole and falling on his ass.

“This thing wasn’t so low the first time!” he could hear Eric complain in the distance.

“Let me check,” the park employee replied.

“Oops, I better go,” Marcus whispered, sneaking away from the scene of the crime with an evil grin on his face.

***

After securing the second place in the basketball and fashion challenges, Tiffany realized she had somehow already run out of tickets. She desperately needed more if she was to continue playing. Still feeling energized, the girl ran around the park restlessly, searching every nook and cranny.

“Oh! Here’s one!” she shouted as she noticed a ticket on one of the horses in a merry-go-round. She quickly found two more tickets and then finally left after making sure she didn’t miss anything. As she went further down the path, she noticed another mission area that she hadn’t seen before. It was a small, brown stand with an older man behind it. The girl could notice a large board to the side, with many square pieces arranged on it.

“Hi! Can I do a mission here?”

“Hello. Yes, this is the puzzle mission. You have to arrange the sixteen pieces on the board to create a picture.”

“Ok, I’ll do it,” Tiffany quickly handed the man a ticket and stood in front of the board. She was pretty sure it was supposed to be a picture of an animal – a squirrel or a hamster… or maybe a bear. It was something furry anyway. “Ok, this one goes here… this one goes next to that one… Oh my God, I’m a speed demon!”

Before long, all the pieces were in their place, revealing a picture of a cute chinchilla.

“Done!” Tiffany jumped away from the board, checking for the time - 00:33.17.

“Well done,” the older man nodded.

“Yay, I’m in first place!” the girl exclaimed joyously as she wrote her time on the scoreboard. This moved Samson – who completed the task in little over thirty-seven seconds – down to second place, while Marcus was third. “Sorry, guys, but you’re going down.”

***

After searching the area around a large Ferris wheel and finding two tickets, Samson found another mission area. He frowned when he saw the Mini-Golf sign. He was always bad at sports, and he doubted that day would be the one when he suddenly discovered a hidden talent for golf. One look at the scoreboard soured his mood even more – Marcus was second and Eric was first. Moving past the mini-golf area without stopping, the singer continued down the path until he found the next mission area, even worse than the previous one – basketball.

“Oh, are you kidding me?!”

Exasperated, he stopped to check the game. There were three balls of different sizes, and he had to throw them in hoops of matching sizes. It seemed simple on paper, but the only balls he knew how to handle were definitely not basketballs. Still, there was no use in avoiding all sports games. He might as well try one of them. After paying a ticket, he grabbed the smallest ball first, but then his eyes fell upon the scoreboard. Once again, Eric was in the top spot, followed by Tiffany and then Marcus.

“Fuck, how is he so good?” he muttered, shifting his focus back on the hoop in front of him.

“Must have something to do with me being a professional athlete,” the familiar, deep voice called out behind him, causing hairs on his neck to stand up. He didn’t want to hear or see Eric anymore. He didn’t even want to think of him.

“Ugh. Go away, Eric. Don’t you have a cake to ruin?” Samson rolled his eyes, refusing to even turn around.

“What? I can stay here and watch if I want to. Give you moral support.”

“Funny, I don’t remember…” the singer threw the first ball, “ever asking for it.” He threw the second one, but both of them missed their mark.

“Ouch, someone’s a little rusty. Better practice some more, man,” the quarterback provoked him as he turned to leave. “See ya around, Sammy!”

Biting his lip, Samson threw the third ball, missing the hoop again. He tried again and again, each time throwing the balls more aggressively, which did nothing to help. Several attempts later, he was still at a zero out of three, having managed to throw only one of the balls, but in the wrong hoop.

“Ugh, just… forget about it,” he mumbled angrily as he dropped the ball and stormed off. He was never one to back down from a challenge, but even he knew when a situation was hopeless. Perhaps it was finally time to admit that he was out of his depth and that Eric could indeed be the frontrunner.

Simmering with anger, Samson stalked away from the basketball area in search of more tickets and missions. It wasn’t long before he found another one, but as luck would have it, the quarterback had arrived just before him, getting ready to start. The man occupying the stand went over to the mission area, gesturing at a gymnastics beam standing about half a foot off the ground. The nearby scoreboard showed that Marcus was the only one who had completed the mission.

“You have to walk along the beam without falling, while holding this ping pong paddle with a ball on top of it, without letting the ball roll off,” he explained, handing Eric the paddle and the ball.

“Ok, no biggie,” the athlete replied, only then noticing Samson standing nearby and watching. “Came to cheer me on, Sammy?” Eric sent him a grin that only served to irritate the popstar even more. “Watch and learn!”

The athlete stepped on one end of the gymnastics beam, holding the paddle and the ball in his right hand. He stretched out his left arm for balance as he made a few careful steps, one foot in front of the other. However, the ball immediately rolled off the paddle and fell to the ground.

“Hah! I am definitely learning what not to do! Thanks, Eric!” Samson waved at him before walking away, letting out an exaggerated laugh. However, his happiness was short-lived, as an announcement came through the speakers.

“Contestants, you have one hour left,” Nicholas’ voice could be heard all through the park. “Eric and Samson currently have the first place in two games each, while Tiffany and Marcus are first in one game each. The cake challenge is the only one no one’s managed to complete yet. Good luck!”