connection.’
Anna’s heart gave a little lurch. A collective ‘aw’ was issued by the audience. Then the picnic date appeared on the screen. The whole thing was sickeningly sweet and, just as Anna had predicted, every one of Luke’s romantic lines made its way into the episode. The camera angles made them look closer than they actually were and the close-ups of their faces paired the appropriate emotions to the dialogue, with much more editing than Anna expected. She couldn’t remember letting head-over-heels infatuation cross her face, but the slight movement in her jaw had her guessing it was actually just a delicious mouthful of food. There was enough honest playful interaction there to make it look like a fairytale date.
Then the scene with the group bitching about her played out, almost in full, cut with footage of Anna on the stairs reacting to their words. Anna fought a sudden burst of nausea.
The lights flicked back on and Anna clasped her hands on her knees. Sweat gathered in the middle of her palms. The show had been eighty per cent her. The audience, the experts and the other girls had their eyes firmly locked on her face, or running the length of her body, as if to say, ‘Who the hell does she think she is?’ Even Hadie was looking at her differently and when she noticed Anna watching, she glanced down at her feet instead.
‘Anna,’ Mason said over the applause. ‘How do you feel watching the first episode?’
A shudder ran through her body. He was going to make her speak first, in front of an audience. She thought she’d been nervous before with the oversized cameras, the lenses only centimetres from her face, but this was worse.
‘It’s strange to see yourself on a television show.’ She scanned the audience. Kate wasn’t in the first three rows of the audience. Beyond that was darkness.
‘How do you feel your date went?’ Jason Myers asked.
‘Well, I think. It was fun.’
‘And how do you feel about Luke Westwood?’ Kimberley Ruro said.
‘He’s nice, good humoured … amazingly good looking.’ Anna offered a slight smile and several people in the crowd giggled.
‘There seems to be great chemistry between the two of you,’ Glenda Liebert started. ‘But you need to relax and be yourself, Anna. You give closed answers in all of your interviews.’
‘We watched the entirety of the footage from your date.’ Kimberley Ruro gestured to the panel. ‘You were uptight and closed off. But when you let yourself trust the process, you lit up.’
‘Luke and everyone watching love you, Anna. There’s nothing to be afraid of,’ Jason Myers added.
It was almost convincing, except for the nine identical death stares being delivered by the other contestants. Even the nicer women had that jealous I-hate-you-even-if-that-makes-me-feel-guilty look. Seeing that expression on their faces made Anna want to stuff herself with sweets until her desire to scream passed. She wanted to quit this show so badly.
‘In fact, here’s something to show you how great you are,’ Jason Myers announced, leaning back and facing the back of the stage. ‘There’s no need to be shy.’
The screen lit up again. This time it was a grainy shot of Ben’s living room. Anna leaned forwards, her eyebrows scrunched.
‘Hello, Australia!’ Ben slid into the frame on his rolling office chair. ‘This is my bestie, Anna.’ He held up a picture of them together in a frame. It was a great photo from the day they’d found the best apple pie in Sydney.
‘She’s the best person I know. Totally sweet and totally a sweet tooth. And I know she’s going to be nervous, maybe even too terrified to show you and the suitor on Love Elimination who she is and why she deserves love. So here’s a video compilation to do that for her. I only hope our wonderful Mr Right sees it. And by Mr Right, I mean Luke Westwood, because that man is perfection.’
The footage showed the most embarrassing moments of Anna’s life,
Anna’s heart gave a little lurch. A collective ‘aw’ was issued by the audience. Then the picnic date appeared on the screen. The whole thing was sickeningly sweet and, just as Anna had predicted, every one of Luke’s romantic lines made its way into the episode. The camera angles made them look closer than they actually were and the close-ups of their faces paired the appropriate emotions to the dialogue, with much more editing than Anna expected. She couldn’t remember letting head-over-heels infatuation cross her face, but the slight movement in her jaw had her guessing it was actually just a delicious mouthful of food. There was enough honest playful interaction there to make it look like a fairytale date.
Then the scene with the group bitching about her played out, almost in full, cut with footage of Anna on the stairs reacting to their words. Anna fought a sudden burst of nausea.
The lights flicked back on and Anna clasped her hands on her knees. Sweat gathered in the middle of her palms. The show had been eighty per cent her. The audience, the experts and the other girls had their eyes firmly locked on her face, or running the length of her body, as if to say, ‘Who the hell does she think she is?’ Even Hadie was looking at her differently and when she noticed Anna watching, she glanced down at her feet instead.
‘Anna,’ Mason said over the applause. ‘How do you feel watching the first episode?’
A shudder ran through her body. He was going to make her speak first, in front of an audience. She thought she’d been nervous before with the oversized cameras, the lenses only centimetres from her face, but this was worse.
‘It’s strange to see yourself on a television show.’ She scanned the audience. Kate wasn’t in the first three rows of the audience. Beyond that was darkness.
‘How do you feel your date went?’ Jason Myers asked.
‘Well, I think. It was fun.’
‘And how do you feel about Luke Westwood?’ Kimberley Ruro said.
‘He’s nice, good humoured … amazingly good looking.’ Anna offered a slight smile and several people in the crowd giggled.
‘There seems to be great chemistry between the two of you,’ Glenda Liebert started. ‘But you need to relax and be yourself, Anna. You give closed answers in all of your interviews.’
‘We watched the entirety of the footage from your date.’ Kimberley Ruro gestured to the panel. ‘You were uptight and closed off. But when you let yourself trust the process, you lit up.’
‘Luke and everyone watching love you, Anna. There’s nothing to be afraid of,’ Jason Myers added.
It was almost convincing, except for the nine identical death stares being delivered by the other contestants. Even the nicer women had that jealous I-hate-you-even-if-that-makes-me-feel-guilty look. Seeing that expression on their faces made Anna want to stuff herself with sweets until her desire to scream passed. She wanted to quit this show so badly.
‘In fact, here’s something to show you how great you are,’ Jason Myers announced, leaning back and facing the back of the stage. ‘There’s no need to be shy.’
The screen lit up again. This time it was a grainy shot of Ben’s living room. Anna leaned forwards, her eyebrows scrunched.
‘Hello, Australia!’ Ben slid into the frame on his rolling office chair. ‘This is my bestie, Anna.’ He held up a picture of them together in a frame. It was a great photo from the day they’d found the best apple pie in Sydney.
‘She’s the best person I know. Totally sweet and totally a sweet tooth. And I know she’s going to be nervous, maybe even too terrified to show you and the suitor on Love Elimination who she is and why she deserves love. So here’s a video compilation to do that for her. I only hope our wonderful Mr Right sees it. And by Mr Right, I mean Luke Westwood, because that man is perfection.’
The footage showed the most embarrassing moments of Anna’s life,
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