Page 32 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

Brittany and Jaxon -Southern charm, rural cowboy themed branding. Been together forever, but on totally different pages

SETH’S COUPLES:

Tarun and Kendall -Wannabe food critics. Will they starve without a 5-star restaurant on the island? Give them something under-seasoned to eat?

Naiah and Sage -Crystals and tarot, just started dating two weeks ago. Remind them that Mercury is in retrograde

Mikayla and Trevor -Insta couple #Trekayla. Trevor looks like he does the heavy lifting in the relationship. Can he carry Mikayla or will her dead weight drag him down? *A.B. *L.K. *B.D.

Zya and Dominic -Alpha Male meets Pick Me Girl. Just point him at a target and watch the fireworks go off. Easy to hate, villain edit

BRYAN’S COUPLES:

Ava and Noah -Will self-destruct without email access after 24 hours. Super intense *L.G. *S.V.

Bacon and Firefly -#VanLife for the aesthetic and because no one will rent to them. Credit score is in the tank. Will do anything for a sponsorship

Selena and Daniel -Hottest interracial couple here, good for promo shots. Been together one month. Selena likes to party *S.H. *F.J.

Chapter Seven

Hell Is an Unscheduled Hangover

When I wake up the next morning, the first thing I notice is the beam of sunlight shining directly in my eyes.

This never happens to me, because I have thick blackout curtains hanging in my bedroom. I block the sun with my hand and squint as the fog of sleep starts to lift and reality floods in.

My blackout curtains have failed me because there are no curtains.

There’s no cozy familiar bed or worn gray comforter that Chase steals over the course of the night. There’s no cramped apartment filled with math textbooks and stacks of exams for me to grade. There’s no faint lavender scent from the essential-oil diffuser Tara bought for me for my birthday or even the smell of burning bacon because Chase tried to cook it in the toaster—again.

Instead, I’m curled up next to Chase, who’s snoring up a storm on a military-style cot in the living room of a tropical villa. A villa that would, in other circumstances, be the perfect summer getaway, with its soaring four-story-high ceilings, elegant marble tiling, and designer furniture. Sunlight streams in through the tall windows, which offer a breathtaking view of the ocean.

But it’s hard to really appreciate the view, given the situation all around us. The room is crammed full of open suitcases and duffel bags. Sandy clothes are strewn everywhere, and half a dozen people are passed out on cots.

It looks like Ava and Noah had the right idea. I vaguely remember a producer saying that the bedrooms were first come, first serve—and the couples who turned in early must’ve snagged them. The rest of us have been relegated to living it up dormitory-style in this beachside mosh pit.

The previous day comes rushing back to me. I groan and flop back onto my cot, wishing I could erase my memories of last night. My head pounds, and my whole body feels slow and heavy. I feel like I’m one of those characters inNarutowho has to wear training weights that they can’t take off until they’re fighting a worthy opponent. (Thanks to my eighth graders, I know too much aboutNaruto.)

Brittany is on the cot next to me. When she pops up with a stretch and a yawn, still sporting the same red plaid shirt from yesterday tied at her midriff, she looks like a Folgers coffee commercial come to life.

“Good morning,” Brittany says cheerfully. “Where’d they go?” she asks, gesturing at the empty bedroom across from us.

“Ava and Noah,” Brittany clarifies. I’m about to say I have no idea where they are when I hear a thudding noise. We look out the window and spot Ava jumping rope while Noah punches a punching bag in a makeshift gym on the patio.

“Guess they never stop rising and grinding,” I say, and Brittany laughs.

When Brittany leaves to do her makeup, I’m left alone with my thoughts. Unbidden, my mind dredges up the memory of Daniel, hands in his pockets, talking to me by the pool. I can’t believe he’s here.

And, oh god, he saw me drunk last night.

My face burns with embarrassment. What was I talking about? Did I say all that stuff about rocksout loud?

I rub my eyes. It’s fine. Everything is totally, completely fine. I don’t care what Daniel thinks about me.

And, besides, this isn’t even the first time he’s seen me drunk. The first time was junior year of high school, during Quiz Bowl Regional Finals. I’d convinced Cindy to join Quiz Bowl so that we’d have enough people to field a team. I promised her I’d do all the studying, and all shehad to do was show up. She did it for me, but she also did it for the free overnight hotel stay paid for by the school.

As luck would have it, the brackets had shaken out such that we were facing off against Daniel’s school in the Regional Finals—which meant both teams were staying at the same hotel in Sacramento the night before the competition.

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