Page 25 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“I guess torches are a bit passé,” she says. She turns on her heel to face Bella and Blake again. “Bella and Blake, say your goodbyes. Your journey through hell ends here.”

On cue, Bella’s face crumples and a single tear tracks down her cheek. Blake goes in for a side hug, and she shrugs him off, clearly still pissed. The other contestants crowd around them.

“I’m so sorry you’re leaving. I’m gonna miss you so much!” the girl in the cowboy hat cries, throwing her arms around Bella.

As Bella pulls away, her eyes fall on me.

“Youbitch!” Bella sobs. “You distracted my man with yourfeminine wiles!”

“Hang on,” I protest. “I didn’twileanyone—”

Bella lunges for me, but the cowgirl catches her, holding her back. “Sweetie, don’t do this. No man is worth embarrassing yourself on TV for.”

“But she—” Bella struggles for a moment, and then sags, her head hanging. “Ugh. You’re right.”

Cindy’s warnings about getting the villain edit ring in my head. I have to make things good with Bella now, before the narrative takes hold. I say, “I’m sorry about the wink. It was just a joke. A stupid one.”

Bella looks at me, her face glistening with tears. “I forgive you. It’s not your fault that you’re super hot.”

There has to be some kind of sexy alchemy at play because no one’s ever called me “super hot” before. I have got to get in front of a mirror and find out what I look like in this bikini. I’m fully aware that my attractiveness level is “model in an Old Navy ad campaign” at best. In a Jane Austen novel, I’d be called “tolerable,” and that suits me just fine.

Before I can respond to this mind-boggling statement from Bella, Leah swoops in. “I think we’ve got enough footage here. Let’s debrief, kiddos.”

As she takes me and Chase away, the smell of food hits me, and my mouth immediately starts watering. The other contestants are heading for the catering tent, where a sumptuous buffet has been laid out—and is that a whole roast pig sizzling over an open fire? My stomach rumbles, and I realize that I haven’t eaten anything since before we jumped off the boat.

“Dinner?” I ask hopefully.

“Later. When you’re done with your interview,” Leah says firmly.

Leah leads us over to a dusty rose–colored love seat in the shade and gestures for us to sit. There are already glasses of champagne on the table beside us.

I think longingly of the water bottle I chugged and abandoned hours ago and pour myself onto the love seat next to Chase.

Lex is there, and I drunkenly wave to them before remembering that I’m not supposed to talk to the crew. They ignore me, like the professional they are.

The cameraman focuses on me as Leah checks her notes.

“So, Alice, do you feel lucky to be staying?”

“Yes! So lucky.”

“Okay, try that again, but I need you to repeat my question in your answer. That will help give context to the viewers. For example, ‘Do you feel lucky to be staying?’ ‘I feel lucky to be staying.’ ”

“Got it,” I say. “I feel really lucky that we’re still in. If Bella and Blake hadn’t totally melted down, we’d have been in big trouble. Like mega, Godzilla-sized trouble.”

I fling out my arms, gesturing widely to make my point. Chase snorts, and then I giggle, and soon the two of us are laughing so hard it hurts. Leah folds her arms and glares at us.

“Sorry,” I say. “Did that answer your question?”

“Yes, but not in any way that’s helpful. It’s fine.” Leah jots somethingdown. “Chase, what did you think of Bella going after Alice?”

“That was wild,” Chase says, his eyes wide. “Bella was so mad. But I knew my girl Alice would stay calm. She’s always cool as a cucumber.”

“That’s me,” I say, feeling the giggles start to bubble up in me again. “A cucumber.”

Leah rubs the bridge of her nose. “Uh-huh. Alice, can you say something nice about Blake and Bella? We need the viewers at home to know that there are no hard feelings. Something like, ‘Bella and Blake are total sweethearts. I’m so sad to see them go.’ ”

“Yeah.” It feels like she’s slipping me the answers to a pop quiz. “I’m so sad to see Bella and Blake going home. They’re total sweethearts. I feel so bad. But also relieved that they’re going home and not us.”

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