BPOV
Okay, Bella, I thought to myself. Now is not the time to get sweaty palms about all of this. Just breathe. Everything is going to be fine. There is no pressure to win anything. This is all just for fun. Just have a good time. It's what this is all about for you.
It was a strange opportunity that had come my way. I wanted something different – something rare and fantastic – to happen in my life. It had finally arrived. I knew that I would regret giving up before anything even started, and all because I was a tad out of my comfort zone.
I had always considered myself very level-headed. I still considered myself level-headed, at least up until the point where the limo was pulling up the drive. Panic set in and I seriously considered running away as the driver opened the door.
"Welcome," said the sweet, elderly gentleman, tipping his head respectfully. "I will have your things carried inside."
I took a deep breath as I stepped out and took in the grand view.
"Thank you," I replied.
I wasn't exactly sure where I should be going, and I was thankful that he offered me his arm and walked me inside the very large manor. Everything was very… out of my price range.
"The camera crew will be with you momentarily," he said. "Your preliminary interview will be in here."
He guided me into a large room off of another large room. Special lighting was placed all around a green chair. He offered me the seat.
"Can I get you a fresh drink," he offered.
"No, thank you."
"Very well," he said, nodding. He turned back toward me before he left the room and said very sincerely, "Good luck, mademoiselle."
I sighed deeply.
Bella, you fool, I criticized myself.
On one hand, I knew that this was all meant to be nothing more than a shallow, brainless competition for some guy I'd never met once in my entire life. On the other hand, though, I also knew it was a way to make a very dramatic change in my life. Most people might begin a new chapter by reading a new genre or downloading some fresh music. But those things weren't going to be enough for me. I needed something different. I needed to do something wild.
This will be on national television, I warned myself.
But I didn't care. I wasn't in this to win a man, or to get face time with a camera. I was here to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to try something very, very different. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to be wined and dined a little, but I mostly wanted to stick around long enough to fly somewhere exotic, maybe. Or to get some extreme makeover out of the deal. Who knew? I was honestly up for just about anything!
I was just surprised to get past the producer's merciless cuts when I signed up three months ago. Thousands, even tens of thousands of women tried to sign on for this circus. Only twenty-five of us made it through and I was very curious to see what the other women looked like and what kind of personalities I'd be bunking with. Maybe this is where I'd make a lifetime friend, or at least a pen pal or two? I worried that the other girls would be catty and immature, but then again, I was here and there was bound to be at least one other sane person, right?
Maybe I'd be the very first one sent home anyway, and then I wouldn't even have to unpack. Maybe I'd get sent to some five star hotel to finish out the time on my silence contract? A few weeks next to a pool with a few familiar books wouldn't be unbearable, after all.
"Isabella Swan," asked a lanky guy with trendy geek glasses.
"Bella," I said, standing up to offer him my hand. I recognized Bean from the elimination rounds. He was one of the producer's many minions. "Are you here to start the interview?"
"Very astute, Miss Swan. Yes, please have a seat and we'll get started straight away."
I sat down as the crew adjusted the lighting and fidgeted with their camera equipment. I wondered how I would be able to walk around like a normal person with them always present.
"So, Bella, tell us your name, a little bit about yourself, and why you're here." It went very quiet suddenly, and all eyes were on me.
"My name is Bella, I'm from a small town in Washington called Forks." Why was I here? What should I tell them? "I'm here to… to have a new experience. I've never gone on a date with a guy who was going on dates with twenty-four other women at the same time."
They chuckled a little.
"Yes, Bella, but can you be a little more specific? Why don't you tell us what you're looking for in a man? What's your type?"
"My type? Um, well, what I would look for in someone permanent is someone who is honest. Someone who is faithful. Someone who is easy to get along with and who doesn't have to entertain me all of the time. And someone who I don't have to entertain constantly, either. He would have to be someone who could be comfortable around me. Someone who doesn't have to keep secrets or feel like anything he perceives as lacking in himself is something to be ashamed of."
"Very nice," Bean said a little dryly. "But what about how he looks?"
"How he looks?"
"Yes. What are you looking for as far as looks?"
"Does it matter all that much?"
"Just humor us."
"I guess my ideal guy would be someone who isn't too uptight or angry looking, I guess? Someone approachable and who smiles a lot. Someone who you can look at him and just tell that he is trustworthy."
"Okay," Bean said as he tilted his head a little and pushed his frustrated hand against his forehead. "But what about the color of his hair or his eyes?"
"I don't really care what color his hair or eyes are."
"I think we'll stop here for now. Ernie will show you up to your room and you can get freshened up a bit. Maybe all of this travelling has made you tired. We'll come back to your interview another time."
The kind man who had led me into the interview room appeared at the doorway and offered me his arm again.
"I heard what you said," he told me as he walked me back out to the main entrance where there was a grand staircase.
"Did I botch it?"
"I think you did wonderfully, Miss Swan. You are a delight compared to the other ladies." Were the other girls here already?
He led me around the stairs and into a large living room area.
"Ernie," I started, but then paused. I wanted to get more information out of him, but I didn't want to seem crass. I liked him and felt in my heart that I could trust him. "This is a very grand house."
"It is one of the gentleman's many houses, Miss Swan."
"Wait a minute! Do you mean to tell me that the guy they got for the show actually owns this home? I thought it was all, you know, scenery for the show?"
I started to panic suddenly and realized that I was clutching onto Ernie's arm a little too tightly. Bella, I told myself, you don't belong in a house like this. Whoever this guy is, he must be rich! You are not going to be his type. Not by a long shot! He's probably a stuck up snob looking for someone to scratch a weekend itch. Get out while you still can!
Ernie chuckled. "The other ladies do not seem as worried as you do, Isabella – if I may call you by your given name."
"Of course you may, Ernie. But please tell me, what are the other girls like?"
"Well…" He looked up as if to contemplate how to answer. "They seem more excited than nervous to learn of the gentleman's wealth."
We made our way through the room to a set of large double doors in the center of two beautiful stone fountains surrounded my magnificent greenery. The natural light of the morning came through the tall windows that wrapped around the entire room through the doors. Inside were many beautiful women, some sitting on couches, others standing and mingling in groups. They all seemed to get along just fine, chatting and giggling. I felt the silence rest heavily upon me as twenty-one gorgeous women all turned their eyes to glare at me in unison.
I suddenly felt very under-dressed and inferior in every way as the women scanned me over. I wished that I could have somehow arrived earlier so that there would have been fewer stares.
Most of the women looked like they had some kind of work done, whether it was their lips, noses, or of course their breasts. Most of them were a golden bronze as well – none naturally. Many of them were wearing dresses and skirts so short that the lower half of their butts were hanging out of them. One girl had glitter in her hair and eyelash extensions that looked like feathers. Yet another had on a pleather neon pink cheetah print strapless mini-dress with six-inch spiked heels. I started to wonder what kind of guy we would be wooing here. Based on this sample of women, I was beginning to wonder if the guy would even be worth the effort. I wasn't sure that he would be anything like the ideal guy I had described downstairs to Bean and the camera crew.
I'm only here for the fun of it, anyway, I told myself. Don't make the mistake of making this all about a guy. There's no point in it.
"Hello there," chimed a kind voice from beside me.
I turned to see a woman with an angelic face smiling brightly at me. Her hair was short and choppy. Her smile was absolutely flawless, but also sincere. I felt sure that this would be my new pen pal. She was the only one with a dress down to her knees like me.
"I'm Alice," she said with a smile. "Alice Brandon."
I took her hand gladly, eager to relax and have a friend.
"Bella Swan." I sighed with relief. "Thank you so much, Alice."
"For what," she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I admitted. "I think I was feeling a little out of place just now, and I think your kind presence might have just saved me from some sort of emotional collapse."
She giggled and invited me to sit down on one of the couches with her.
"When did you arrive," I asked.
"I was the first one to get here. I arrived at five this morning."
"Where are you from?"
"Chicago. And you?"
"Forks," I answered. "It's a small town in Washington. It's nothing like Chicago, I'm sure. I think our most popular fashion trends include plaid and fish hooks."
She giggled again. "Well, Bella, you certainly don't look like plaid and fish hooks." She motioned to my deep purple wrap dress and leather heels.
"Thanks," I said gratefully.
I wasn't typically one for putting on all the bells and whistles. The truth was that I felt absolutely naked in anything that even resembled fashionable clothing. As a matter of fact, I would have been happy to trade everything I brought with me for a single pair of jeans and a worn out fitted t-shirt.
"So what is it that you do in the world, Bella," she asked.
"I'm a linguist," I said.
Here it comes…
"What's a linguist?"
Yup.
"Linguistics is the scientific study of languages. It's not so much that I study everything about languages so much as how people think because of the language that they have available to them. Ideas are embedded into every human being from the second they're born and so much of how we each feel about the world comes from our ability to categorize information from it and store it inside of us and ponder it."
"Interesting. Are you going to use your communication skills to win over the bachelor," she teased. She didn't seem at all competitive over the matter.
I laughed. "I'm not sure."
"Not sure? About what?"
"I'm not sure if I'm the right kind of girl for him. I just found out that he's very rich, and I'm not sure how I got selected for this anyway. I'm not really sure that I fit in with his type of woman." I gestured around us to prove my point.
"Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what his type actually is." She smiled kindly.
"You're right, Alice."
"Well, I'm very glad you're here, Bella. I hope to see more of you."
Just then the remaining contestants entered the room.
"Alright ladies! Everyone's here," shouted a woman with a clipboard. She entered the room and was surrounded by four men in jeans and crew t-shirts, another man in a casual suit, and Bean. "Before we get started for the day, let me please remind everyone of the contracts you each signed. Remember that cameras may be anywhere at any time. You all signed away your privacy for the duration of the show and as long as you are on this property or on a sponsored property, you may be filmed by this show's crew at any given time. Whatever we collect on film we have the right to edit any way we please. Additionally, I will tell you all now, and I'm only going to say this once, if you are eliminated from this show you must pack and leave immediately. No dilly-dallying will be tolerated. Goodbye means so long. Is that understood?"
We all nodded our heads.
"Good," she said. "My name is Heidi and I will be seen by all of you from time to time as the show goes on. My main purpose is to gather you together once every so many days for elimination rounds. You'll find that all the information you need for the next few days is on a handout that my assistant, Marcus," (she motioned to the man in the suit), "will be handing each of you as you exit. Each of you will share a room with four other women. Your respective luggage has already been delivered, along with a gown for each of you to wear to the Introduction Ball this evening. Everything we loan you to wear is sized according to the paperwork you filled out pre-show, so for those 'size two's' out there, I hope for your own sakes that you were giving honest measurements and not merely trying to impress anyone." She stopped to snicker to herself for a moment before continuing. "I'll let you all go now, but let me give you this tiny piece of advice first: don't bother unpacking. There are twenty-five of you in this room now, but only fifteen of you will be staying after the ball tonight. The festivities begin at seven sharp and the first elimination round will be at midnight. So good luck to all of you."
I heard an audible overall gasp of the crowd and I looked around to see all of the girls' stunned faces. Some of them looked a little strained as they were probably trying to calculate how many of them would be leaving by the end of the night, and I chuckled to myself as Glitter-Hair struck an epiphany half a moment too late to impress anyone.
"Ten," she gasped, holding eight fingers up and looking a little confused still. Her feathery eyelashes were batting rapidly as she seemed to come to the realization that she managed to subtract fifteen from twenty-five correctly. "That means that ten of us will be leaving today!"
"Are you sure," asked Pink Leopard Dress.
"Yeah, 'cause like, twenty-five and then minus the fifteen from that, right?" Someone should have skipped glitter school and attended a few more basic math classes, but perhaps that ship had long since sailed. "Like, that means ten will go home doesn't it?"
Alice and I glanced at one another in a knowing way. We'd obviously been listening in on the same conversation, and we giggled together. We were the closest ones to the doors and the paperwork that Heidi had mentioned was being shoved in our faces as the herd of women began to push from behind us. We were both hurried out into the main living room where we decided to step aside and wait while the stampede of girls made their way around us and up the stairs.
"Well, the first elimination is all happening very quickly, don't you think," Alice asked.
"I guess so," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I felt a playful grin spread across my face. "Like, doesn't that mean that, like, ten of us will be leaving?"
She snickered at my very accurate impression and chimed right in.
"I don't know," she laughed. "Like, don't we have to multiply by the square root of pi, or like, something?"
We had a good laugh and decided to make our way upstairs.
"I doubt you'll be going anywhere," she said with a wink. "I'm sure you won't be in the first ten tonight."
"I don't know about that, Alice. I'm not sure how well I really fit in here."
"Why's that? Are you afraid of getting shredded by the catty cheerleaders?"
I laughed. "No. Catty cheerleaders I think I can handle. I'm just anxious to see who this bachelor is. Do you know anything about him?"
"None of the contestants have been told a single thing as long as I've been here," she said. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
I sighed.
"Are you afraid he'll be dreadful or something?"
"I'm afraid he'll be shallow," I confessed. "I don't know how we were all selected to be here, and most of those girls don't appear to be too intelligent. That, or they seem to be trying too hard to be someone they're not."
"Well, who cares if they're pretending? Maybe this guy is smarter than we give him credit for? Maybe he'll be able to discern that right away and ten of the ditziest scatterbrains you've ever met in your life will be sent home?"
"Let's hope to that!"
When we finally got upstairs, there was no one to be seen.
"What's your room," Alice asked.
I checked the paper I'd been handed. "Mine just says Viridian Room."
"Well," she said excitedly. "It looks like we will be seeing more of each other, then. I'm also in the Viridian Room."
We found the right door and entered the room to find two of the three other girls busily unpacking. They were in the middle of some sort of bragging contest.
"Well, that is really cute, Maria," said a strawberry blonde with a false smile. "But I'm going to have to say that his type is probably more me."
The one named Maria smiled back and said in a charming, Spanish accent, "I don't know Tanya. If he's looking for real love then he's looking for me!"
"Hi," said a sweet girl from the corner. She was sitting on the edge of her bed next to her luggage. "I'm Bree Tanner. These are our roommates, Tanya Denali and Maria South."
"Hello," I said. "I'm Bella Swan and this is Alice Brandon."
"You look familiar," Maria said to Alice, almost suspiciously. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"No," Alice said quickly. "I doubt it. I don't really get out much anyway."
"Where are you from," Maria asked her, pressing the matter.
"Chicago," Alice answered. "And you?"
"Houston."
"I've never been to Houston, but maybe you've come to Chicago? But then," Alice said with a smile, "it's a very big city."
"Yeah," Maria nodded. "It just seems like I know you from somewhere."
"Maybe it'll come to you," Alice suggested. "Where are the rest of you from," Alice asked Tanya and Bree.
"I'm from New York," Tanya declared proudly.
"Seattle," Bree said shyly.
"Well," Alice said with delight, "That puts you in the same home state as Bella here. She's from Forks. Have you ever heard of it?"
"Umm, I'm not sure," Bree answered. She continued to sit on the edge of her bed, looking rather nervous and unsure of herself.
"What do you think he'll be like," Alice asked.
"Hopefully he's as rich as he appears to be," Tanya said, her eyes dancing with excitement at the prospect of snagging a wealthy man.
"And he's probably a fox," Maria chimed in. "At least, he'd better be. I don't really see the point of going after an ugly rich guy when there are plenty of handsome ones on the market currently."
"And if they're not eligible bachelors, that doesn't mean they can't be," Tanya snickered. "I'll admit, I've wrecked my fair share of homes."
Maria joined in Tanya's laughter. Bree looked away.
"So, money and hunkiness," Alice summed up.
"Why," Maria questioned. "What are you hoping he'll be like?"
Alice took a moment to answer. "Hmm," she started. "I guess I just have one hope and it's that he'll narrow us down by how much he likes each of us for who we really are. I don't know if anyone in this house is his type or not, or what will come of any of this. I just want him to find happiness for once."
"For once," Tanya asked. "What makes you think he's not happy already?"
"Well, I can't say," Alice said. "I mean, who really knows, right? In fact, who knows anything about the guy?"
"I can't wait to find out," Bree said. There was finally a bit of excitement in her voice. "Did you see our dresses by the way? They're hanging up right over there in the closet off the bathroom. I can't wait for the ball. I've never been to one before!"
Tanya and Maria rushed over to the gowns. There was a dress for each of us, each hanger designated a nametag.
"Oh, it's splendid," Maria said, gushing over a pale rose, floor-length gown with obvious Spanish influence in the design of the beading. It was tight-fitted until where it would reach her knees. Then it gave room for flaring out.
"I think mine might have a notch more class," Tanya said nonchalantly about her gold backless gown and matching heels. It poofed out the way a dress does in stereotypical fairytales.
Bree's dress was baby blue with silver straps and heels. Alice's was a smoky-gray with silver beading down the deep v-neck front. And mine…
How are you going to pull this one off, Swan?
It was a strapless, glossy, beautiful emerald gown. The top was fitted similar to a corset and the length of the gown flowed freely. The heels matched exactly.
"What size is yours," Tanya asked.
"Why," I asked.
She held her gown up to her body, the gears in her head obviously churning away. "Mine appears to be a tad too small."
Alice took a peek at Tanya's name tag on the hanger. "Says it's a four," Alice said as she read the tag.
"It looks like a four," I agreed.
"Well, I am a four," Tanya said hotly, "but this dress seems to be too small."
"Or maybe you're just too big for a four," Maria chortled.
"Bella, you look like you could squeeze into this for me. Wanna trade?"
"We shouldn't trade," Bree warned.
"Why not," Tanya snapped.
"Read the tags."
"Each dress has been designed to fit the girls' personalities and individual tastes. Please do not exchange gowns with any other girl. – Staff."
"Who picked these things out, anyway," Tanya complained.
"Whoever it was has excellent taste, don't you think," Alice asked me.
I nodded my head enthusiastically. "They are all amazing! Someone out there has an amazing eye. Although, my dress might outshine me tonight."
"Don't be silly," Alice fussed. "Hold your dress up to you. Look at how it accentuates every tone in your skin! And just imagine with the hair pins holding back your luscious curls – you will be stunning!"
"Hair pins?"
"Don't you have the hair pins," she asked as she dug through the black accessory bag slung over the hanger. She grabbed two emerald hair pins from the bag and raised them to the sky victoriously. "Here they are! See? They match the necklace." She pulled out a box containing a stunning chain with an emerald pendant.
"Alice," I whispered. "How did you know there would be hair pins? And how did you know there would be a matching necklace?"
"Uh… just female intuition, I guess. Gowns like these usually have hair pins to match, right? And could you really be expected to wear a corset top without a pendant?"
"I guess," I said with a shrug. "I've never worn a ball gown before, let alone accessorize one."
"Well, there's a first time for everything now isn't there?" She strode off to her luggage and began to unpack all sorts of hair styling products: hot curlers; a blow dryer; a straightening iron; the works. "If you'd like, Bella, I'd be happy to do your hair for you this evening."
"I will definitely take you up on that offer, Alice." I didn't know the first thing about putting in hair pins. "This is a sort of competition, though," I reminded her. "Are you sure you want to help me?"
"Absolutely. Right after we grab a little bit of lunch downstairs."
I opened the accessory bag and placed the hair pins and necklace case back inside.
"Here," Alice whispered, motioning toward the closets. "Each wardrobe has a key. I suggest you lock up that dress before Miss Denali snatches it."
"Do you really think she would do something like that?"
"Oh, absolutely! Don't underestimate a single one of them. You may be here with good intentions, Bella, but that doesn't mean that everyone has the same code of ethics. Some of these women are entirely cut-throat and they're in it to win this man like he's some sort of trophy."
"How can you tell who's who?"
"Take it from me, Bella. Sometimes, a woman just knows."
"Fair enough." I grabbed all of my things and stacked them in the wardrobe. I didn't bother taking anything out of the luggage yet. I didn't want to take any longer than was necessary to leave this place, should I be among the ten tonight. I locked the closet and strung the key around my necklace, then turned to go.
"Are the rest of you coming for lunch," Alice asked.
"I'll be down in a minute," Bree said. "Will you save me a seat next to you two?"
"Of course," I said, happy to have another possible friend in the house.
"I'll be down in a little while," Maria said. She was pulling some of the beading off of her dress and re-designing it with a needle and a shade of thread that didn't match the dress. "I think the neckline needs to be much deeper. And it's waaay too long. I like to have my skirts short!"
"I won't be going down for lunch today," Tanya grumbled. "I have a dress to squeeze into tonight. It's not that I'm not a four, by the way! It's just that whoever picked it out must have grabbed one that had a mislabeled size or something. I swear, they must not have a very large budget for their wardrobe department, because whoever they have on staff must have only half a brain! Heaven forbid they should hire someone who could get the job done properly."
"Come on, Bella," Alice huffed. She had a fire in her eye. We were half way down the hall when she rolled her eyes and laughed wildly. "Whoever picked out that dress did their job just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if she was one of the girls who lied about her measurements! And where does Maria get off cutting up that masterpiece? Just imagine! Whoever created it probably spent forever beading it by hand!"
"Whoever made it did their job very well," I agreed. "It's not the designer's fault that the wearers of the dresses can't appreciate beautiful art."
She calmed down a bit. "Come on," she said, transitioning to a happier beat. "Let's go scope out the rest of the girls. I wonder if there are any more neon animal prints to be seen?"
We snickered together all the way down the stairs.