girls in school but it was supposed to get better once high school was finished. It would have, except Kate—her own sister—had ripped her away from her café and inserted her into this absurd world.
‘I don’t know. There’s so much emotion around just coming on the show. Then there’s the interviews every ten seconds and everyone talking about Luke twenty-four-seven …’ Hadie trailed off.
‘Were you jealous when I was picked for the first date?’ Anna asked. So far, Hadie was her only ally on the show. In the moments when they could just relax together at the villa, Anna liked to think that she would come out of this experience with a good friend.
‘Kind of. I was sad that I wasn’t chosen and I wanted to be in your shoes. But I didn’t hold it against you, like some of the others.’
‘Do you think—’
Anna was cut off by loud voices behind them and both women turned. Anna’s stomach churned at the sight of the director hastening towards them with a camera crew in tow.
‘Anna, Hadie. You’re not supposed to be out here,’ he said. ‘Come on. We need you inside for interviews.’
Every part of her felt sore and tired. There was no way this was another routine interview. The camera was aimed at her, not the two of them. She bit the inside of her lip and took a deep breath. Then she stood up and dusted the sand from her shorts. There was nothing she could do about the dampness.
* * *
The spotlight was blinding. Anna blinked and stumbled, barely making it down the three steps to the main stage. She’d been woken with the rise of the sun, shunted into a minibus with the nine other remaining women. Of course, her less than sunny mood may have been to do with the eviction. A few days ago a group of four contestants had been invited on a date with Luke. Anna hadn’t been at all jealous until Christina didn’t return. Plus, with one of their number down, the bitchy clique in the villa had become almost intolerable. Anna had taken to hiding out in her bedroom with mock menus for her café. But she couldn’t avoid them in the TV studio green room.
After spending days only speaking to Hadie, the noise of the crowd came as a shock. Hiding wasn’t a mature response to the bitching, but it was surprisingly easy to pull off. After the small group date that sent Christina home, there was another single date with Jessica. Plus the women were constantly being pulled into interviews with the producers, who pushed cameras into the contestants’ faces and tried to make them cry or bitch. Anna felt a stab in her chest every time she had to think about the other contestants having their first kiss, even if no one said anything.
Anna sat herself on a swivel stool, perhaps the most awkward type of seating they could find. Without anything to lean against, Anna had no choice but to sit perfectly upright with her hands on her knees. The position made Anna’s back ache almost immediately. But the audience was worse. They leered at Anna and the other contestants like food critics sampling dishes at a new restaurant.
‘Welcome all,’ Mason Lockier said when they were all seated. ‘This is the Love Elimination live show! Each Sunday, special guest experts will join us to offer advice to our lovely contestants. And our guests for this evening are … Glenda Liebert, Jason Myers and Kimberley Ruro.’
Three well-dressed people stalked onto the stage, all appearing to be in their thirties or forties. Anna recognised one of them: Jason Myers, self-confessed dating expert; he had a YouTube series about wooing the opposite sex. Anna might have binge-watched the entire first season of clips on Ben’s recommendation, before her first-ever blind date.
As the guests took their seats, Mason gave their bios: as well as telling the audience about Jason Myers, he explained Glenda Liebert was the founder of TheDateDirectory.com and Kimberley Ruro was a relationship counsellor to the stars who’d supported a bunch of
‘I don’t know. There’s so much emotion around just coming on the show. Then there’s the interviews every ten seconds and everyone talking about Luke twenty-four-seven …’ Hadie trailed off.
‘Were you jealous when I was picked for the first date?’ Anna asked. So far, Hadie was her only ally on the show. In the moments when they could just relax together at the villa, Anna liked to think that she would come out of this experience with a good friend.
‘Kind of. I was sad that I wasn’t chosen and I wanted to be in your shoes. But I didn’t hold it against you, like some of the others.’
‘Do you think—’
Anna was cut off by loud voices behind them and both women turned. Anna’s stomach churned at the sight of the director hastening towards them with a camera crew in tow.
‘Anna, Hadie. You’re not supposed to be out here,’ he said. ‘Come on. We need you inside for interviews.’
Every part of her felt sore and tired. There was no way this was another routine interview. The camera was aimed at her, not the two of them. She bit the inside of her lip and took a deep breath. Then she stood up and dusted the sand from her shorts. There was nothing she could do about the dampness.
* * *
The spotlight was blinding. Anna blinked and stumbled, barely making it down the three steps to the main stage. She’d been woken with the rise of the sun, shunted into a minibus with the nine other remaining women. Of course, her less than sunny mood may have been to do with the eviction. A few days ago a group of four contestants had been invited on a date with Luke. Anna hadn’t been at all jealous until Christina didn’t return. Plus, with one of their number down, the bitchy clique in the villa had become almost intolerable. Anna had taken to hiding out in her bedroom with mock menus for her café. But she couldn’t avoid them in the TV studio green room.
After spending days only speaking to Hadie, the noise of the crowd came as a shock. Hiding wasn’t a mature response to the bitching, but it was surprisingly easy to pull off. After the small group date that sent Christina home, there was another single date with Jessica. Plus the women were constantly being pulled into interviews with the producers, who pushed cameras into the contestants’ faces and tried to make them cry or bitch. Anna felt a stab in her chest every time she had to think about the other contestants having their first kiss, even if no one said anything.
Anna sat herself on a swivel stool, perhaps the most awkward type of seating they could find. Without anything to lean against, Anna had no choice but to sit perfectly upright with her hands on her knees. The position made Anna’s back ache almost immediately. But the audience was worse. They leered at Anna and the other contestants like food critics sampling dishes at a new restaurant.
‘Welcome all,’ Mason Lockier said when they were all seated. ‘This is the Love Elimination live show! Each Sunday, special guest experts will join us to offer advice to our lovely contestants. And our guests for this evening are … Glenda Liebert, Jason Myers and Kimberley Ruro.’
Three well-dressed people stalked onto the stage, all appearing to be in their thirties or forties. Anna recognised one of them: Jason Myers, self-confessed dating expert; he had a YouTube series about wooing the opposite sex. Anna might have binge-watched the entire first season of clips on Ben’s recommendation, before her first-ever blind date.
As the guests took their seats, Mason gave their bios: as well as telling the audience about Jason Myers, he explained Glenda Liebert was the founder of TheDateDirectory.com and Kimberley Ruro was a relationship counsellor to the stars who’d supported a bunch of
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