Page 20 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

A three-legged race?My stomach drops. I glance at Chase, but he’s clapping along with everyone else.

Dawn Taylor winks at the camera. “Babes, try not to die.”

“Okay, cut!” Peter Dixon shouts. “Thank you, Dawn Taylor. Let’s take five and get the couples tied up.”

I turn to Chase. “If we’re going to be running, I need some water first.”

“Yeah, go for it. I’ll save our spot,” Chase says, then takes another swig of his whiskey sour.

I get up, scanning the beach for somewhere I can get water. I spot the sound tech who was recording us earlier, crouching behind the cameras and gulping from a plastic water bottle. The sound tech is wearing the all-black uniform of the technical crew and has their hair short in a sleek undercut. Right now, with this heat, I wish my hair was that short, too. I run up to them, concentrating hard on not stumbling on the sand.

“I’m so sorry, but can I ask you something? Where did you get that?”

The sound tech jumps. “Whoa! Yeah, I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to get you in trouble. I’m just really dehydrated, and if I have another one of those mixed drinks, I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk straight, much less do a three-legged limbo.”

The sound tech hesitates. “You can’t get it from a PA? I’m not really supposed to—”

“I asked, but they’re busy and we’re about to start,” I say. “Please? There’s over a hundred people on this set. I know the production company must have brought in enough water for all of us. I’m just asking you to tell me where it is.”

The sound tech glances around quickly. “They keep the water for the crew over there.” The sound tech nods toward the palm trees, where equipment and a cooler are pushed together on a tarp. “The producers really push the drinks on the contestants, so if you have a water bottle, don’t keep it on you. Pour the water into your cup.”

Pouring alcohol into people stranded on a hot beach with no water sounds like, I don’t know, an OSHA violation. I know the PA did promise to bring water around later, but later could be hours from now.

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” I say out loud.

The sound tech adjusts their headphones and scowls. “That’s kind of the point. You must be new here, huh?”

“Aren’t we all new here?” I say, gesturing at the contestants in the distance.

“No, I mean, new to being on reality TV,” the sound tech clarifies. They pause to listen to their headset. “You should get back. Take this.” The sound tech produces a second water bottle from their backpack and tosses it to me. I down it quickly.

Thank God. I feel alive again. I say, “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver. Seriously. I’m Alice.”

“I know.” When I look surprised, the sound tech just shrugs andtaps the headphones they’re wearing. “It’s kind of my job to be listening in on all of you all day.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” I think back to everything I said today. From trying to get out of wearing a bikini to yelling at Chase and being surprised by Daniel. “I guess you know me pretty well, then,” I say, laughing uncomfortably.

“Mhm. Get out of here,” the sound tech says, shooing me away.

“Wait, can I get your name?” I say. They’re right. I’m new to all this, and even though I may have taken a crash course from Cindy and Tara on the ins and outs of being on set, it’s nothing like experiencing the real thing. It wouldn’t hurt to make a friend, or at least know people’s names.

“I’m Lex,” the sound tech says.

“Thank you, Lex,” I say. I must still be feeling a bit out of it because I sketch a goofy little bow, like I’m a court jester. Lex laughs at that.

I turn back to the beach, and as I walk away I stumble and fall in the soft, white sand. I need to clear my head if I’m going to win this race. I thought I only had to focus on beating my competitors, but I’m realizing that the competition itself is just the tip of the iceberg. I want to win; I have to win. But I know it isn’t going to be easy.

As I pick myself back up, I glimpse someone in a blue baseball cap standing stock-still in the shadows of the palm trees. Everyone on the beach is busy—the crew are setting up the shots, and the couples are lining up together. Even Dawn Taylor is doing yoga off to the side. But among all this activity, one person isn’t moving.

I squint, trying to make out this person’s face, but it’s hard to see anything from this distance. I shake my head and tear my gaze away when Lex calls after me, “Have fun in hell!”

Let’s Get Real: Reality TV Gossip at Its Finest

Love Is Hell…Worth it or nah?

If you’re like me, you’re cautiously optimistic about this summer’s newest reality TV show. But who will we be watching? The cast’s identities have been under wraps until today, so I’m going to break it down for you:

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