The Challenges of Love
2. Someday My Chef Will Come
I do not own Total Drama Island or any related spinoffs, merchandise, characters, settings, etc. I also do not own any of the original characters (with an exception of Rachel, who will be voted off first and is there just to push people's buttons). And though I also don't own the idea of reality love shows, I own this messed up plot.
Confessionals will serve the same general purpose they do in the Total Drama series and other reality shows, which is to vent or just show how weird you are. The speaker's will be differentiated from other speakers or the plot by regular paragraph spacing.
TOiC: "Whenever something is in bold and italics like this, this means that the person is in The Confessional. For example… this. The Confessional will be located in a 'sitting room,' so you'll see a white wall and a black loveseat that they sit on only. It's not a big room, just a place to sit and rant to cameras."
There was something there, they had said. Women all over the globe had claimed to feel something for Chris Maclean or at the very least think they could. They had gone to auditions, went to meetings, sent in applications, and now it was down to twenty-three women. Out of this narrowed group of love interests, only one would be left standing. That was all any of the girls knew they had in common with each other; they wanted to be that last girl here.
They had all arrived by a limo sent to pick them up from airports or stations that dropped them off in the nearby city. From there they were driven to and through the winding roads of the Maclean Estate (there was enough statues of Chris to be convinced it was his property at any rate) and dropped off in front of two posh doors that seemed too precious to even knock on. Not that the girls had to worry about knocking, of course. They were all set up in a picturesque fashion on risers at a slant in front of the doors with cameras zooming all around them.
By the time everything had been set up for Chris's promised arrival time, twenty-three women were huddled together in front of the Maclean Mansion (or what some girls were already thinking of as the 'Maclean Castle'). Each woman had a different expression adorning her face and different thoughts circling through her head. None of them were sure of what their experiences over the course of the show would be like, but they were positive that they had a shot at being a part of true Hollywood romance with someone they found worth a fight. That was enough reason for all of them to try and wait patiently and silently.
Well, it was enough reason for almost all of them.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my Go-"
"Shut up already," one of twelve of the taller girls standing on a riser behind eleven shorter girls had hissed. Her face was caked in make-up that wasn't fairing well under the sun. The layers of powder seemed persistent on melting away onto her brand new Armani Exchange shirt. This did nothing to help her naturally sour mood, so she wasn't about to endure some annoying girl's whining.
"Sorry!" the 'Annoying Girl' on the opposite side of the risers squeaked. "I just want to meet Chris now. Where is he? Ugh, I'm just soooo nervous. Isn't anyone else here soooo nervous?"
"I'm soooo annoyed," a girl in the front row said lowly to the girl standing beside her. She had thick russet hair that gleamed in the sun fell to her pale shoulders, blocking her moving lips well from Annoying Girl's line of vision.
The girl beside her gave her an icy look. "Actually, I am very nervous." The russet haired girl turned to gauge just how offended she made this stranger, but she started to laugh when she noticed the girl cracking a smile. "Fine, ya got me, dude. I am very annoyed, too." She pushed her long honey colored hair behind her ear. "What's your name, my oh-so-anonymous housemate?"
"Tawni," the russet haired girl answered coolly. She had a feeling she had made her first friend. That is, if you could consider a rival in love a friend, which she overlooked. "You?"
The vivacious blonde grinned, feeling the same way Tawni did. "Shelly."
Standing behind the two new friends as they excitedly introduced themselves, a sweet faced brunette felt a bit left out and turned to smile at the girl to her right. "Hi, my name's Lena ," she said brightly, putting her hand out. The girl she was trying to make friends with was scribbling away in a notebook and completely oblivious to Lena, much to her chagrin. She figured she'd try again. "Oh, excuse me, but I–"
"Lena. Yes, I heard you," the girl huffed and she started jotting down words more violently in her notebook. "I just don't want to give you an excuse to think I care about anything you have to say after that."
Lena didn't look discouraged at the cruel remark. She decided to overlook the rude introduction and give the writer the benefit of the doubt. "So," she tried again with the same friendly air, "what are you writing about?"
The writer looked up from her book with wide eyes and snapped it shut. "What's it to you?"
Lena was struck speechless by the accusing look the girl was giving her. "I was just trying to make conversation…" she squinted her eyes and leaned in a bit and noticed a name engraved on the front of the notebook, "…Kayla, right?"
The writer, who looked crazy before, was violently shaking and went out of her way to cover the name on her journal. "Don't. Call. Me. That. Name."
Lena felt confused as to why this girl was so upset. "But it said Kayla Anderson on the cover. Isn't that your name?"
"It was my birth name, yes. But I have left that behind. I only go by my soul name – likewise my pen name – now."
Lena's green eyes sparkled, thinking that this Kayla girl was opening up to her. "Well, what is it?"
For the first time in the entire conversation, the writer smiled wide and announced: "My name is Stormy Swift!"
Tawni and Shelly, who had ended up catching the end of the conversation, peeled apart into laughter at the enthusiasm in which the psychotic writer declared her name. Not understanding that everyone thought she was weird, she shrugged and flipped her book open, getting back to her notes.
"I'm glad you're using your notebook even though it doesn't have your… err… soul name on it." Lena looked at the other side of Ka-Stormy to see a girl with blonde hair tucked into a neat bun wearing khakis with a navy vest over a white button-up shirt. Feeling Lena's eyes on her, she gave the girl her attention. "At least she isn't wasting paper, right?"
"Right sounds like write…" Stormy muttered to herself. "That could be a pun…"
Lena decided that Stormy might not be such good first friend material and she'd just have to come back to her later. In the meantime, this other girl knew what she was talking about. "I couldn't agree more. Based on my studies I believe her book, which has about as many pages as a decent sized novel, must have taken about six trees to make. If she were to throw her book out because of the mere fact her name was wrong, that's be like burning them down." Lena shook her head and her brown layered hair fell over her eyes. "That'd be horrible."
The blonde felt elated that this Lena girl knew all of that information. "Wow, I am impressed by your background, Lena. It's nice when people who have strong opinions can back them up. Oh, and you can call me Katroina, by the way."
Meanwhile, a few girls down the line, the woman with too-much makeup berated herself for starting up conversation. Now she had to put up with everyone talking and getting to know each other. "I'm so ready to walk into that house," she said aloud, trying to hear herself over the chit-chatting bubbling around her. "If CC doesn't get here in five minutes I'm just going in anyway, I swear."
"CC?" Two girls who had been talking amongst one another in front of her turned around on cue.
"What the hell is a CC?"The one directly in front of her questioned. She had bleached blond hair that sailed to her hips, which were sporting a pair of zebra print shorts. She had a pink and white striped tube top and light brown Ugg boots to finish the outfit off.
"What the hell are you wearing?"
Before the bleached blond could retaliate, her friend who stood beside her quickly interjected and ended a possible fight. "Hey, I didn't catch your name, did I?"
The make-up girl snarled, not appreciating that any of these random girls thought they were worth her time. However this girl, who looked like some Mexican beauty from a Spanish music video than a middle class pest, made her take the order with no resistance "Krissy Moore."
She nodded in acknowledgement. "That's a nice name. I'm Roxanne Beadford, but I prefer to go by Roxie."
"And I'd prefer if we didn't give this snobby bitch the time of day," the bleached blond told Roxie, her jade green eyes hardening under the glare Krissy was giving her. "She obviously doesn't want to talk to anyone who's not up for bowing to her."
"Excuse me, Roxanne," Krissy interjected with a biting tone, her eyes never leaving the blonde, "but could you tell me the name of the girl with no fashion sense?"
"It's Madina, but my friends call me Maddie. So I guess as far as your concerned it's just Madina," the bleached blond answered coldly. "And you never told us what CC is."
Krissy flipped her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "CC is short for Chris Chris, which is my nickname for Chris."
Maddie bit her lip and tried to stifle her laugh. "Wait, Chris Chris is your nickname for just Chris?"
"Duh, I just said that."
Maddie: She's holding back her laughter as she talks to the camera. "Man, this is so worth my first confessional visit! That girl is messed up! Forget the fact that she probably has never met the guy and is already giving him a nickname – but it's longer than his actual name is! Am I seriously the only one who thinks that's so stupid it's funny?"
Maddie was elated when she noticed that the girl standing beside Krissy was also in hysterics. Krissy looked her up and down and gave her a 'Who do you think you are?' face. This only made the girl laugh harder.
"I'm sorry, but it is kind of funny," she said, swiping a hand through her short copper colored hair. As she did this, Krissy noticed a designer purse dangling from her arm and her scowl became a smirk.
"Coach? Nice."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I like designer purses. It's my weakness." She admitted with a smile.
Not wanting this seemingly cool girl to befriend the designated bitch, Maddie nudged Roxie who was closer to her to bring her into their web of friendship first. Roxie rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless at Maddie's eagerness. "Hi. I'm Roxie and this is Maddie. What's your name?"
"Lauren!" she said a bit too quickly with a soft laugh and a wave. Then she noticed Maddie's outfit and her smile got wider. "Wow… you look really pretty! I love your sense of style!"
Maddie gave Krissy a confident smirk and puffed her chest out a bit. Krissy looked away and grumbled something to herself about everyone being out to get her.
She wasn't the only one who felt alone, though. On the opposite end of the risers a girl was tugging her black beanie down over her cropped brown hair and chewing fiercely on her lip. Then a layer of tears started to build up on her bottom lashes and before she could hold them back they gushed out. In a matter of seconds the girl was sobbing hard as she tried to stretch her beanie over her face.
Katroina glanced briefly away from Lena to face the girl (who was next to her) as she let out a low wail and desperately clawed at her hat once more. She gave a questioning look to Lena, hoping her environmentalist pal had noticed something she hadn't, but she just shrugged in a mirror image of confusion and worry.
Despite their worried expressions, Annoying Girl from earlier opted to bounce up and down on her heals excitedly. "Why are you crying? Is it nerves? I bet it's nerves. I have nerves, too! And not that good kind of nerves. Noooo these nerves I have are the bad kind of nerves. These nerves are the kind that make you feel all ucky in your stomach and you get the cloggy feeling in your throat and your forehead sweats and your palms get sticky and you start convulsing and –"
Another loud wail drowned out the rest of Annoying Girl's statement and she reached out for the person in front of her and pulled her arm into a crushing hug, soaking her shoulder with hot tears.
The victim of the tear-drenched hold paled a bit and looked at the other girls for support. It turns out she had her iPod turned up so loud she hadn't really been paying attention to anything much less the scene playing out behind her. She struggled to take her earphones out with one constricted arm before addressing the sniveling beanie-wearer. "Uh… are you… okay?"
Sniveling beanie-wearer shook her head and held her tighter.
"Is that chick crying?" Shelly, who was a few girls down from the sobbing girl, turned Tawni's attention to the cause of the louder conversations buzzing on the risers.
"Looks like it," Tawni confirmed. "I wonder why… HEY, YOU OVER THERE – NOT YOU, THE ONE CUDDLING YOUR ARM! Oh, you'll work! WHY'S SHE CRYING?"
"I have NO idea!" Feeling the entire short sleeve of her purple v-neck get heavy and start to drip onto her skin, she shivered uncomfortably yet still managed to become more concerned. Taking a softer tone, she lifted her shoulder up a bit. "Do you… want to talk about whatever's bothering you?"
"It's just," the girl sniffed. "It's just," she sniffed again. "It's just that I'm afraid Chris won't like me." She howled and clung even tighter to her housemate's arm.
The victim of the hug's face fell. "… Really?"
Annoying Girl did a victory dance by punching fists into the air and stomping the ground with her toes. "I knew that was the reason. Those nerves infect many persons. I would know. My great-grandfather was a doctor, you know." She grinned at the crying girl and her captive. "That's where I get my name 'Rachel Haynes' from."
"Your great-grandfather's name was Rachel?"
"No, silly. His name was Rebecca due to a tragic incident involving his birth certificate and my great-great grandmother. I meant I got the Haynes part of my name from him."
She let out a light laugh, finding whatever this Rachel-character was spewing to be mildly entertaining. "Well my name's Audrey Lovett, but you can call me Al."
"I'm Nina!" The crying girl looked up briefly to nod at the two girls before sobbing back into Al's arm. Giving up any home of reclaiming said arm, she settled for patting Nina's head and hoping she'd get self-esteem sometime soon.
Al looked up at Rachel pleadingly. "I really have no clue how to get her to feel better. I'm too reserved to know how to deal with strangers. And I wouldn't mind getting fired from being her personal tissue sometime soon, either."
"I wouldn't mind trying to help out if that's alright by you," a woman beside Al offered. She had a dazzling smile and warm persona that made Al relax a bit.
"Go ahead."
The new face hastily ditched her position to go around to stand on the ground beside the riser Nina was on. She had a nice features with high cheekbones and large eyes that were a dark, intense blue. Her blonde hair was pin-straight and was cut clean just above her elbows with bright pink highlights assorted through. "Hello, Nina. My name is Charlie Denvers. I work as an advice columnist for the San Francisco Times, which is a popular newspaper back in California." Nina sniffed and looked up from Al's sleeve, waiting for her to continue. "I think I can help you since most of the advice I offer is romance oriented. If it helps to console you, I've never offered a solution that didn't work – according to the letters back and fan mail, that is."
"Great, we have a professional on the premises," Al said sincerely.
Charlie laughed and even Nina let a giggle out as she released her clutch on Al's arm. "Really? But aren't I your competition? Don't you want to win Chris, too?"
"Hun, don't bother yourself with those kinds of thoughts," Charlie said with a comforting smile. "You're above that! And you really shouldn't think about Chris like an object or something intangible you have to fight and get stressed out to the point of tears for. Don't you think, knowing what he's done in his past shows, that being in such a devastated state before you've even had the opportunity to meet him is something he will surely exploit? Then you'll be left feeling weak during the duration of the competition and your relationship. That's not fair at all. Feel empowered! He's got to live up to your standards, too. It's not a one-way street."
Katroina and Lena were about to reengage in conversation since this Nina person was looking better when they heard what sounded like a gremlin laugh come from Stormy, who was frantically jotting notes down with a new vigor.
Stormy: "This is such good writing material! Great for a side project I plan on doing after I'm finished with my current book… and I don't even have to check her information since she's a claimed professional. It makes life so much easier… muahaha…" She huddles over her book and jots more notes down with a twisted grin.
Nina nodded and made a fist that she slapped into her palm. "Yeah, you know what? You're right. I shouldn't think of this like I'm competing against other girls for a prize and get myself worked up. I'm worth just as much consideration as he is!"
"Exactly! Just treat this relationship as you have previous relationships. He's not any more special than any normal guy you've ever dated. He's still just a guy!"
The corner's of Nina's mouth fell as she resumed trembling. "I've never had a… a… relationship before!" She wailed. Luckily for Al, who was apparently too nice to shove her off before, Nina cuddled up into the fetal position where she had stood.
A woman who looked to be the youngest in the bunch pursed her lips in distaste at the scene. This woman was also the most color coordinated of the group– her bob was a flaming orange, her skin had the orange glow of a recent trip to tanning bed central, she wore an orange summer dress with orange flats, and her eyes were a yellow-brown (it was close to orange, mind you). "I hope she gets voted off first," she said to the girls on either side of her.
"Which 'she'?" One of the girl's asked. She had a lean build with firm muscles, though she looked too easygoing to make anyone worry about getting on her bad side. She gazed at the orange girl with bored violet eyes, though her black bangs covered up her left eye even though her hair was pulled back. Something that made her stand out a bit was a guitar case she had hooked in a tight fist. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're surrounded by them."
Orangey looked her up and down and decided she was too 'punk' to associate with, but that she mine-as-well rant to her since she was the only one willing to talk to her at the moment. "Nina. She's much too immature to be here."
Not liking the tone her voice had taken or the looks she'd been given, the violet-eyed girl brought someone else into the conversation. "What do you think – er, what's your name?"
She blinked and blushed a bit at being talked to so directly. "Oh, umm… I think we should leave it up to Chris to decide. I don't want to judge anyone I don't know." Then she blushed deeper and said in a rushed voice, "Oh, and my name is Sapphire. Who are you?"
"Vikki," she said with a slight wave. "And you don't have to be all shy. We will be living together, right?"
Sapphire nodded slightly. "It just takes me a bit to warm up to people," she said in a small voice, looking down at her fidgeting thumbs.
"Whatever," Orangey said. "You don't have to agree with me I suppose. I'll just hope that she'll get destroyed in our first challenge and then you both get sent home soon after."
Sapphire's baby blues sparkled as she kept her head down and Vikki gave her Orangey a disbelieving look.
Vikki: "She wants a girl she doesn't even know to get hurt and for us to get sent home for… what reasons, exactly? What'd we ever do to her? She could always just be talking down because she's nervous or intimidated. In that case she just needs to chill out and get to know the people she'll be living with for a while. Or at least be civil or something, geeze."
Sapphire: Her eyes still have stars in them as she looks at the camera. "I hope Chris will be coming up with challenges. I'm so excited to see what he comes up with! I really enjoyed all his challenges in his other shows, so I have high expectations!And of course, there isn't anything I can't handle, so I'm not worried about losing the challenge… or going home."
"How about you? You agree with me, don't you?" Orangey directly asked a girl sporting a lilac sundress across from her, who was staring off into… well, no one was too sure exactly what she was looking at. She was seemingly daydreaming in the middle of the front row without a care in the world.
For looking as though she wasn't paying anyone much mind, she was quick to answer. "I would prefer to not give my opinions on people I do not know, thank you. That would be shallow."
She said it kindly, but it still ticked Orangey off. "Who do you think you are?"
"It's polite to introduce yourself before asking someone else their name and any other sort of personal information."
This was not said in a snobby way, either. More in a lax 'just so you know' manner. Still, Orangey hadn't agreed with her. "You all deserve to go home."
Vikki enjoyed the way the spaced-out girl handled herself and decided to take the initiative to introduce herself. "Yo. I'm Vikki and this is Sapphire."
Feeling well approached, she nodded her head and her thin ash blond hair fluttered around her chin. "Hello, my name is Lea… and I noticed you have a guitar out with you."
Vikki smiled wide and patted her guitar case with her free hand. "I don't go anywhere without Luns with me."
"That's nice," she said and Vikki started to tell her about what songs she played and about her band back home. Sapphire and Lea weren't as social as she was, but they made sure to nod at the right times and seemed genuinely interested. This ticked off Orangey, who found herself in the middle of the new friends she had pretty much ruined any chances of a comradeship with.
"It sucks to be her," two girls watching the situation unfold said in unison. One had shiny black hair that fell to the straps of her dark blue tank top, which she wore with black jeans and had introduced herself as Serenity. The other girl had much longer brown hair with blond highlights cut through it and wore a more formal pink halter and blue capris with a silver heart shining from a thin chain around her neck. She had introduced herself as Bell.
"She kinda asked for it, though, the way she tried to make everyone around her say someone they thought she be voted off when we only know the people around us," Bell said so she wouldn't sound too sorry for her.
"I completely agree. Mental note: avoid… er… what's-her-face." Serenity nodded to confirm this to herself. "Work's torture enough, I don't want to be here and have psycho backstabbers trying to make my life hell."
"Her name's Ulli Schmidt – at least that's the name tattooed to the back of her neck. Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living that's so torturous?"
"I'm a High School Aide," Serenity answered casually.
Serenity: "And all the crap those students put me through has prepared me well for this, so I guess there are some perks to the job."
"I bet it is torture," a girl beside them with black hair molded into a faux hawk agreed in a cool voice. She seemed to be talking more to herself than them, but that could've just been her shyness shining through. She pushed her thick rimmed glasses up a bit and glanced over at the two with bright blue-green eyes. "I remember the kind of stunts some of the kids in my classes used to pull on them. It was a bit ridiculous what they got away with."
Serenity sighed. "I mean, I guess I don't have it so bad or I would've quit by now, y'know?"
Serenity: "That's a lie… I wish I could quit. It's just I don't want to unless I know the book I'm writing will get published and be successful. I know this one girl who used to work as an aide with me and she had about enough and quit her second week – she's the same girl who lives in a box a couple blocks away from me. Poor thing."
"Well hey, you've been all antisocial up until just now and I don't think I got your name yet, did I? I'm Bell. The tortured aide is Serenity."
"How ya doing?" Serenity waved.
The girl with the faux hawk grinned nervously as her introversion was called out on. "I'm Dawn," she greeted, waving slightly back.
"I'M SO NERVOUS!" Rachael was heard shouting again across the risers. This random exclamation was followed by laughs, nods, and a chorus of people shouting 'shut up.'
This made Bell laugh. "I can't imagine being nervous enough to yell about it. She's got it bad."
"You think so?" Serenity wondered.
"Yeah I do. I mean she hasn't even met him yet and she's about to freak out and go into cardiac arrest."
"I'm with you there." A tall girl who screamed 'punk' with waist-length brown hair and pink highlights splayed across her bright green hoodie yawned. She looked bored despite listening to music through large skull candy headphones adorned with stickers. She took her headphones off and hung them around her neck. "I can't imagine anyone here liking Chris at all and some of these freaks seem like they'd go elope with him right now if they could."
Dawn: "I feel a bit out of place with all the gossip and smack talk going on around me. It's probably why I get along better with guys than I do girls, I just don't get into stuff like that."
Bell smiled and gave her thumbs up. "That's what I'm talking about! Forget the romance and get to the excitement!"
The punk patted her back. "Right – Bell, was it?" Bell nodded enthusiastically. "Cool. I'm Jade."
Jade: "Looks like I found some people here who aren't a fangirl-in-training, psychopathic, or hopeless romantics. Hell, they don't even seem to be bitchy preps. Am I lucky or what?"
"You two aren't here for Chris?" another girl who was silent before had finally spoken up. She didn't seem angry, though. If anything she just seemed to have a pure childlike curiosity.
"Nope," Jade said unabashed.
"Wow," she said softly. "Das ist sehr interessant…"
"Um, what did you say?" Bell asked, wondering if she was insulting them or something.
"I just said that was interesting is all," the girl replied with a wave of her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't say my name yet but I know all yours – I'm Kristina."
"I'm going to guess you're here for Chris?" Serenity asked politely.
"Something like that." Kristina swooned a bit at the thought of being there for Chris. She had a gut feeling there was more to him than these girls were seeing.
Krissy, who was being avidly ignored by all the girls around her and was 'accidentally overhearing' the other girls conversation, gasped loudly to get their attention. "You mean to tell me that there are some people here who aren't interested in CC? I hate those girls already."
"CC?" Jade wondered at hearing the declaration of rivalry. She looked genuinely perplexed.
"CC equals Chris Chris which equals Chris," Lauren said brightly, happy to help someone out. Bringing the nickname up again caused Maddie to break off from the conversation she was having with Roxie to go back into a fit of laughter.
Roxie: "This is probably going to be an on-going joke all season. Krissy just set herself up for that one, didn't she? If she would try to make friends with everyone instead of judging them for their style and differences, I don't think it'd be as funny as it is. That's how karma works, though."
"Mandy, isn't that funny?" Maddie asked a girl who had been standing beside Krissy on the far right of the top riser. At being so boldly addressed by someone she hadn't spoken to she awkwardly wrung her writs and nodded. "Er, yeah. Hilarious."
Mandy: "These girls can put all their attention on Krissy. Good for them. They won't even see me taking them out if the focus is on her, which is most likely what's going to happen since she can't keep her mouth shut." Mandy stifled a laugh. "Heh, CC…"
"Shut your mouth, bitch!" Krissy shouted, glaring at Maddie. "I've had about enough of you, you rude middle-class –"
"Hey!" Lauren and Maddie shouted out in unison, neither looking too happy.
Shelly: "I can barely hear Tawni talking over everyone shouting 'bitch' and 'shut up' back and forth. And that girl who's crying and the other girl who's still shouting on about nerves doesn't make it easier to listen."
Tawni still managed to hear Shelly despite the noise, though. "It totally looks like we're going to have major drama before Chris even gets here."
Tawni made a face and had a bit of an epiphany. She checked her watch and felt her eyes go wide.
Tawni: "Chris should have been here HOURS ago. The producers told us fifteen minutes of waiting TWO HOURS and FORTY MINUTES ago. That's why the wait felt like forever, 'cause it's been forever and forty minutes! What the hell?"
"Things aren't looking good here," Katroina said to Lena, thinking along the same lines as Tawni and Shelly.
Somehow through all the chaos, something black and shiny caught Lea's eye but it disappeared behind a large row of foliage so she wasn't sure what it was exactly. Then she saw it clearly pulling into the end of the driveway and slowly accelerating to the girls. "It's a limo," she said aloud.
Everyone seemed to hear the word 'limo' and immediately pasted their eyes to the shiny, sleek limo that was headed their way. The already wild scene took a momentary turn for the worst as people made sure they were in the exact spots the camera crew had set them in when they arrived and prepared themselves to see Chris Maclean walking out the doors.
Some girls were nervous…
Nina: "I hope Chris thinks I'm prettier than the other pretty girls here… and it'd be nice if you he noticed me more than any of them, too. I always wanted a love-at-first-site kind of thing. I really think I would love him if I saw him in person. But I mean I get so self-conscious thinking about him and I think about him all the time. I already know everything there is to know so I guess that helps me out a bit… I am a coordinator on his second highest hit fansites after all. I just need him to realize his love for me… but now I'm left wondering… HOW DO I GET HIM TO LOVE ME WHEN I'M THE UGLIEST AND PROBABLY LEAST EXPERIENCED GIRL HERE?"
Some were more composed and weren't worried a bit…
Serenity: "I'm not nervous at all. The thing is this: yeah I think Chris is hot and his sadism makes him that much sexier, but it's not like I want to seriously date him. I mean how often do these reality show romances work out anyway? The real reason I'm here is because of a dare I have with a friend." A camera crew member shouts out that he wants to know what the repercussions of the dare was and why exactly she felt obligated to go through with it rather than blow it off, but it didn't look like she was going to talk anytime soon.
Some were excited…
Bell: "This is going to be one hell of a life experience! Whether I get Chris… or his money… or lose or whatever else happens to me will be something exciting that would never happen if I had stayed in Washington. To say I'm excited would be an understatement right now."
Some hoped the girls would all drop dead…
Ulli: "I hope all the girls drop dead!"
And some weren't too sure what they were supposed to be feeling.
Lea: "I've always thought there was more to Chris than what I saw on TV, the magazines, the internet, you name it. I hope I'm not let down and Chris turns out to be a lot different than I had expected. It happens."
The limo pulled up slowly a few feet in front of the girls. Tension tightened around everyone's stomach. The camera crew was leaning in close to the limo door, zooming in on the man they had been expecting hours ago. The limo door opened and…
Krissy: "Oh you have got to be effing kidding me!"
Shelly: "… Did I sign up for the right show?..."
Rachel: "It's my nerves. They have hacked into my brain and are manipulating my mind so I don't see things right. That's the only possible explanation… DAMN YOU, NERVES!"
"Chef?" One of the camera crew members asked apprehensively.
It was true. Chris Maclean did not step out of the limo. Chef Hatchet, however, did. He had a small suitcase with him and was already donning an apron and large white hat. He was also already glaring at all the girls as if sizing them up.
"Chef! It's about time you got here! How was the trip, buddy?"
All the women twirled around with death glares set in their eyes to see the guy they've been waiting for come striding out of the front door of the mansion. He had a million watt smile as he made his way over to his friend, not even bothering to look over at the girls.
Kristina: "And there is reason number one why my friends told me not to sign up for this show. Because I'm here for Chris Maclean."
Charlie: "He seems to be lacking commitment to this show and likewise to all the girls that are here for him by coming in late. How does he expect to have any sort of romantic connection with anyone here if he is already faltering in one of the three key areas of a successful relationship?"
"It was horrible. You owe me a new high-caliber water rifle. Did you know you aren't allowed to bring anything resembling a gun onto an private airplane either? Back in the military, you were a fool not bring one and now you can't even bring anything that looks like one."
"Bummer, dude, I'll take care of it for you." Chris turned to walk to the house and he finally noticed all the killer intent aimed at him. Well not really, but he did notice the females they were attached to.
"Well hi there!" he said gaily.
"Hi, Chris!" Lena said back. She seemed to be the only one unphased by his lateness.
Lena: "People make mistakes sometimes. It happens. I'm not going to throw away a good opportunity because of one silly one."
"I guess you're all here for the show then, right?"
Lea: "He doesn't look very excited about his show. I would think any guy, especially with a reputation like his, would be enthusiastic at this opportunity."
Al: "I turned by iPod back on, so I can't really hear what he's saying. Somehow this makes me agree with whatever he's mouthing about more." She smiled down at her iPod. "Music – you got to love it."
"Well then, I guess it's to explain something's to you ladies about what the next couple of weeks will be like for you guys here on: The Challenges – of – Love!"
Katroina: "One of the goals I have beside to win Chris's heart here is to try and change Chris for the better. I have a feeling love isn't going to be my only challenge."
Here is a listing of all the girls and their creators in good ol' ABC order by last names. They deserve props for being creative with the ladies submitted and putting their beloved ideas up for the kind of torment you only see on reality TV:
-Kayla 'Stormy Swift' Anderson – Singstar Master
-Serenity Brandon – DarkNinja1994
-Roxanne 'Roxie' Beadford – One Black Rose
-Sapphire Caligre – Petit-Sapphire-Jai
-Mandy Cassiders – Snowstarwriter
-Kristina Colmar – giannamclean
-Charlie Denvers – Good Girls Like Bad Boys
-Tawni Fernix – HowlingWulf
-Katroina Geddes – logicaliger
-Lena Greene – 1000GreenSun
-Lea Jenson – xx . Feline . Of . Avenue . B . xx (without the spaces of course XP)
-Victoria 'Vikki' Love – Victoria Poe
-Issabelle 'Bell' Marely – funkydoodle99
-Kristen 'Krissy, Moe' Moore – RamenIsRad
-Audrey 'Al' Lovett – lazyASshika
-Dawn Payne – NaitomeaKatze
-Madina 'Maddie' Roy – Santi48
-Lauren Russ – Blond with a Brain
-Ulli Schmidt – Breezy-chan
-Jade Smith – tdicrazy
-Shelly Smith – Queen O' Randomness
Special thanks go out to: Mimi (who reviewed without an account – you made me laugh so hard XD) and The Feline (for the making sure I updated promptly ~ I'm much obliged.)