Page 64 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

The door opens, and I’m spared having to make any more small talk. Brittany bounces in, fanning herself.

“Howdy, y’all! Whew, that was wild!” she says, taking off her cowgirl hat and shaking out her hair. She looks around. “Hey, where’s Mikayla? She should’ve finished before me.”

“She’s probably in a different waiting room,” Selena guesses.

“Ah well. Her loss,” Brittany says, and makes grabby hands at the mimosas. “Now let’s get this party started!”

Selena hands Brittany a flute. “Drink up, girl. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

—

It’s another two hours before we’re summoned back to the beach to film the conclusion of the Greed Challenge. The producers keep the couples separated, and I end up sitting between Brittany and Selena.

“Here we are,” Dawn Taylor says, for once solemn. “I wish I could say that all of you chose to fill that blue barrel and stay true to each other. But that’s not the case. In fact, one of you filled that red barrel sofast it made my head spin!”

We all look around uneasily.

“Daniel,” Dawn Taylor says, and my heart leaps into my throat. “Do you think Alice was the one who did it?”

Daniel looks at me and smiles. “No way. Alice and I, we’re a team, and we’re in this together. And she’d never walk away from a competition, even for twenty thousand dollars.”

His words slice through me. Normally, he’d be right. But he doesn’t know about my mom or the medical bills I’ve left unopened on my kitchen table. He doesn’t know that I’ve spent hours on the phone with her health insurance, trying to convince them to lower our costs. He has no idea how much time I’ve spent in hospital waiting rooms, grading exams and hoping for the best.

“Isn’t that sweet?” Dawn Taylor says, looking from me to Daniel. “And Alice? Do you think Daniel betrayed you?”

“He would never.” I hope I sound convincing. “When he gives me his word, he means it.”

Dawn Taylor makes her way down the row of contestants, asking each of the couples the same question. Finally, she returns to the center of the group. It’s time to put us out of our misery.

“It’s the moment of truth. The person who filled the red barrel the fastest did it in less than fifteen minutes!” Dawn Taylor announces.

Fifteen? Fifteen means it wasn’t me. I had a slow start, and even with moving the barrel, I took way longer than that, thanks to my noodle arms.

“And that person is”—she pauses dramatically—“Bacon.”

We all gasp. Firefly’s hand flies up to cover her mouth as she turns to Bacon in disbelief.

“Bacon! How could you?” Firefly demands.

“It’s twenty thousand dollars! You know what I can do with that kind of cash. It’ll change everything. I can get a 12-valve Cummins Diesel, full solar!” Bacon says. “That thing’ll be luxury when we’re on the open road!”

Firefly shoves him. “Seriously? We were supposed to win this competition to show my parents we were serious and didn’t need them! I can’t believe you just made this decision without me!”

“I figured we’d talk it out later,” Bacon protests.

“Oh, we have alotto talk about,Barry.” Firefly throws up her hands. “This is what I get for falling for an Aries.”

“Fiona, baby,” Bacon shouts as Firefly turns her back on him. “Don’t do this.”

She whirls around to jab a finger at his chest. “We’re getting a divorce—”

“We’re not married!”

“—and I’m taking the sourdough starter!”

Dawn Taylor cuts in, coming between them. “Bacon, make sure you read the fine print on that cash. You can’t use it on anything that will benefit Firefly. So don’t even think about trying to buy your way back into her good graces. Now, I’m sorry, but your journey through hell ends here.”

Bacon is crying now, tears tracking down his cheeks as Firefly storms off. We’re all quiet in the wake of their departure. Firefly and Bacon had seemed so genuinely in love, but it hadn’t been enough to withstand Dawn Taylor’s test. I just hope that they can get through this.

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