Page 90 of Surviving Love
Larry insisted he wanted to be in an alliance with Jack and me, but I got a weird vibe from the other people he was aligned with. It was obvious they felt Jack was a huge threat to their game, and I couldn’t shake the feeling they were conspiring against us secretly.
Harold no longer even pretended to want to work with Jack and me. He definitely still wanted Jack out of the game. Maybe even more so now that he knew we’d tricked him when Rob got voted out.
We had our first challenge today as the merged tribe, and I was interested to see who, besides Jack, would stand out as a physical threat. I’d do my best to win the Protection Necklace, of course. But there were much bigger, stronger guys than me on the tribe.
“Come on in, everybody,” Shep called out as we approached the game course on foot. “How are you all getting along so far?”
“Great,” Sherry said. “It’s been fun getting to know all the new people.”
“Anybody backstabbing the other tribe yet?” Shep asked, watching us closely. When no one volunteered anything, he said, “Nobody wants to admit to that?”
Larry shrugged. “There are little groups forming, of course. But so far, everyone is playing nice.”
I glanced at Larry, wondering if that was what he was doing with me—playing nice. He’d wanted to align with me in the very beginning, but he’d spent thirteen days with the other tribe. Obviously he’d formed bonds. I’d be a fool to not realize that.
“That’s a good point, Larry. People can fool you if you take them too much at their word.” Shep nodded.
“Not everyone is lying, I’m sure.” Julia looked uneasy.
“I guess you won’t know until they backstab you,” Lydia said, glancing at Jack.
“Hey, why’d you look at me when you said that?” Jack grinned.
Harold laughed gruffly. “You know perfectly well why she looked at you.”
“You should talk, Harold,” I grumbled.
Shep started laughing. “I figured things weren’t nearly as copasetic as you guys were pretending.”
“We’re a work in progress.” Sherry smiled.
“It would seem so. Okay, guys, let’s get to today’s challenge.” Shep pointed to wooden posts painted bright colors. “Today we’re going to test your balance.”
Everyone groaned.
Shep laughed. “Sorry, but it’s not easy to win a million dollars. You need to earn it.”
“I’m trying my hardest, Shep.” Jack grinned.
“I can see that.” Shep smiled. “Okay, while standing on the poles, you’ll have to balance a tray that has a ball on top. There are no grooves for the ball to stay on it, so it’s all about how well you can balance yourself and the ball.”
Larry perked up. “I’m a waiter. This might be just my thing.”
“Only one way to find out,” Shep responded. “Let’s get to it.”
We all picked a post to stand on, and I ended up between Larry and Jack. I held my arms out, trying to find that perfect spot before I had to hold the tray with the ball on it. Once everyone said they were stable enough, interns went around handing us each a tray with a ball.
“Everyone feel stable?” Shep called out. “Remember, if you step off the post or if your ball falls, you’re out of the challenge and you lose your chance at individual immunity. Good luck, everyone, andgo.”
I was glad it was a challenge where brute strength wasn’t the key. That meant maybe I’d have a chance at winning. Many of the challenges were all about how powerful you were, but this one was about balance and endurance. I could compete with anyone at things like this.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for my feet to start hurting. The pain was pretty intense after about twenty minutes of balancing on the top of the post. My toes began to cramp, and sweat ran down my face, but I gritted my teeth and kept pushing myself. I wasn’t going to quit because of a little pain.
One by one, the contestants fell off the posts or dropped the balls. After an hour, it was down to me, Jack, and Larry, still hanging on for a chance to win the Protection Necklace. I really felt like I had a shot at winning the challenge. My accident had trained me to handle pain well, and I had good balance. My ball had barely budged from the center of the tray the entire time.
At one point, one of the producers walked up to Shep and said something to him. Shep straightened and quickly glanced in the direction of me, Jack, and Larry. I didn’t want to lose my concentration, but something about Shep’s body language bothered me.
“Time-out, guys,” Shep yelled.
