Chapter Three

The first to be pulled from the group is Emily. She goes with Laura and a group of cameras outside where they’ll be filming the introductions. 

A guy named Thomas tells us he’s the second in command on set,  and he takes the rest of us around the house. He seems a little more… uptight than Laura. He doesn’t smile and speaks in a clipped tone.

There’s a fully equipped gym, a library, a very modern kitchen, two game rooms, and upstairs there’s ten bedrooms and five bathrooms. Everyone has their own room that is connected to a bathroom that leads into another room. I’d never been in a house this big before and all I could think about as we walked around it was how long it would take to clean the entire thing.

As we walk around and Thomas goes on about how to turn this on and what to do if this happens, we’re all pulled one by one. I’m pulled third, after Violet and Emily. I guess they were doing the girls first.

I walk behind Laura as she leads me back through the house and outside. 

“Can we have makeup touch her up a bit?” Laura says to a couple of women as we walk out the sliding door. They nod, and usher me over to a seat. The two women start fussing and preening over me, brushing my hair and powdering the shine off my face. I do my best to sit still but they’re being a bit aggressive since they’re rushing.

Once they’re done I’m led in front of the cameras and sat on one of the couches outside. I straighten my back, and tuck my hair behind my ear a little. I felt like I was posing for a school picture, but a thousand times worse.

“Alright Angel. Make sure you sit up straight and try not to stare too much into the camera, okay? You are talking to the audience, but it’s weird to never break eye contact, you know?” Laura says to me as she stands to the side, typing away on her phone. “Let’s do this.” She waves to the camera guy who nods and positions himself behind his camera.

She tucks her phone away, fluffs her hair, and puts on that big grin of hers as the camera turns to her. I guess it was a fake smile for the cameras. 

“Alright guys, next up for introductions, we have Angel Hawthorne, a sweet girl next door from a small pack in the south.” She does a little wave with her hand, and the camera pans to me. 

My heart races so hard in my chest I’m shocked the others can't hear it. I put on the best smile I can and wave to the camera a little, feeling completely ridiculous. 

“Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Angel? What do you like to do in your free time? How old are you? What’s your type when it comes to men?” Laura prompts from the side.

I nod, smoothing out the fabric of my dress a little as I prepare. “Well. I love reading and writing, it’s my dream to be an author, actually.” I say, smiling a bit as I thought of the days I spent back at home writing. “Uhm… I’m nineteen, I’ll be twenty in December… and my type?” I chew on my lip a little. “I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess someone sweet. Someone who loves me for me.” I nod a little, glancing at the camera for a moment before looking away. I was having a hard time picking somewhere to look, and I hoped I didn’t look like a nervous wreck with my eyes darting around.

“What would you do if you won the prize money?” Laura asks. 

Without hesitation, I say, “Save my mom.” 

“What’s wrong with her?” 

I swallow thickly, pushing the tears that were welling up down. How embarrassing would that be, cry on camera on the first day? “She’s uhm… sick. She has moon sickness, and there might be a way to cure it, but it costs a lot of money. Me and my family don’t make a lot so there’s no way we could ever afford to help her without a miracle.”

“We’re sorry to hear that, Angel. Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans before we finish up?” Laura asks in a voice I suspect is fake sympathetic. 

I shrug a little, glancing at the camera. “Just… I hope I can find someone here who is real, and genuine, and I hope everyone watching can help me by sending me good thoughts.” I say, smiling at the camera. 

“Cut.” Laura says. “That was great, I love the good girl thing. People are going to eat it up. You can head back to the group, we’re done for now.” Laura says, spinning and strutting off without looking at me again, already pulling her phone out again to keep typing on it.

I blink a little at her sudden departure, and slowly stand up. That woman was going to give me whiplash. I start to make my way inside when one of the guys holding a microphone suddenly turns around, and I bump right into him, making him drop his microphone on the ground with a metallic clank.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.” I say, dropping down quickly to grab the metal pole the microphone was attached to. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No, I whipped around on, that’s my bad.” I glance up at the sound of a deep voice speaking, and freeze when I meet the dark gray eyes of a man. He had squatted down with me, his hand also reaching to pick up the dropped microphone.

Jesus, even the crew members here were gorgeous. 

His lashes were so long and were slightly curled, making his eyes look even more drool worthy. His skin was tan, and he had a little bit of scruff on his sharp jawline.

“Uh… sorry.” I stammer, standing up and handing him the microphone. I brush past him, shaking my head a little at what a dumbass I’d just acted like. I felt like I looked like a freak after rushing off like that.

If I was that much of a mess with a crew member, what was going to happen when I had one on one time with one of the guys?