AN: Special chapter! Whoo hoo! Time to meet some very interesting people…
Sarah
I didn't want to interview their dumb family members. It was a waste of time. I mean, what could they possibly have to say that would be interesting?
"Camera's on in ten, Sarah! Goin' live!"
"Got it!"
I sat down and straightened my skirt, and then ran my hands through my hair once before the red light came on. Then I put on my best smile for the camera.
"Hello, I'm Sarah, the host of the household. Today we have special visitors- one family member of each houseguest is going to come in and talk with us about what has happened in the house so far. So let's get started with Spot's father, Mr. Aaron O'Keefe."
The door opened and Mr. O'Keefe walked in, his suit perfectly pressed and his tie straight to a 'T'. He shook hands with me and sat down, and I looked at my question card.
"Welcome, Mr. O'Keefe. How have you been?"
"Fabulous. My son's been here, remember?"
I laughed politely, though I didn't find that funny at all. "So what do you think of how your son has handled things so far?"
He laughed again, a deep, hearty laugh. "I think he's done horribly. That's why I sent him here. No socializing skills whatsoever."
"Really?"
"Yes. Maybe getting put up for eviction in the first week will bring him to his senses."
"What do you think of the other houseguests?"
"Well, on that point, I have a question for you, Sarah."
Oh, shoot. Why'd they have to get creative? "Okay."
"Can I just take Mush home instead?"
That was funny. I couldn't help but laugh on that one. He snickered, and then continued. "No, but really, I think most of them are very nice young men. I'm hoping he comes out of this with at least a few new friends."
"Well, thank you for coming, Mr. O'Keefe. I wish your son luck in the house."
"It was a pleasure, Sarah." With that, he stood up and walked out the door.
Okay. Smile big from the cameras, look at cue cards to see who's next.
"Next we'll be having Dutchy's mother, Elizabeth Anderson."
Elizabeth walked in, her long dress flowing around her. Her long blond hair was partially pulled up, and she was really very pretty, in a natural sort of way. She smiled and sat down, looking a bit nervous.
"Hello, Elizabeth. How have you been?"
"It's been strange, Sarah…not having him in the house, I mean."
"I can imagine. What do you think of his performance in the house?"
She thought for a moment, watching a clip on the TV screen behind us of Dutchy sitting in the kitchen with Specs and Bumlets, laughing hysterically as Bumlets tried to cook dinner. "I think he's done great, honestly. He's a sweet kid, and being in there didn't change that. I'm kind of nervous about him being in there with them."
"And what do you think of his relationship with Specs?" I asked, pressing a button on the arm of my chair to change the clip. Now it was the pool scene- the morning where Specs had pulled Dutchy into the pool.
"I think it's great that he has a new friend in the house."
"Do you think it might become more than friends?"
I changed the clip to show a non-aired scene from earlier today- Dutchy had been teaching Specs how to paint, and somehow it had turned into a paint war that they eventually even dragged Skittery and Mush into.
Elizabeth bit her lower lip, but then her face turned determined. "No way. He's not a homosexual. There's no way."
"Thank you for your time, Elizabeth."
"You're welcome, Sarah."
She walked out, and I turned once again to the cue cards. "Next we'll be having Blink's father, Baron Thompson."
He walked in the door, and I was amazed at how young he looked, for being the father of a teenage boy. I could see where Blink got his good looks.
"Hello, Mr. Thompson. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Sarah."
"That's good to hear. So what do you think of your son's performance in the house?"
He was positively beaming as he answered that question. "I think, under the circumstances, he's done amazingly well. He usually can't hold his temper that well."
"And what about the other boys in the house? What do you think of them?"
His expression turned serious. "Well, of course, there's a few I wouldn't mind having as my own son, and there are a few others that I wonder how they've survived this long."
"And what about Mush?"
He snorted. "What about him?"
I couldn't believe he was skirting around this issue. "He and Blink seem to have become very close in the first week alone. Are you comfortable with that?"
"I'm sure they are just friends and will remain as such. My son is not a homosexual."
Okay. Avoiding that issue. Moving on…"Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Thompson."
"My pleasure."
He walked out, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked at the cue card. "And next we have Itey's mother, Anne Kent."
Anne walked in, and I was shocked to see that she was sobbing hysterically. She dragged herself over to the chair, collapsing down into it as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the tears off her face.
"Are you alright, Anne?" I asked, leaning forward and putting a hand on her shoulder.
She nodded, blowing her nose. "I'm fine."
"Well…what do you think of the house so far?"
She started to cry all over again. "My poor child, in that house…with those awful boys!"
I was at a loss for words as she continued to sob. Then she slowly pulled herself out of it, forcing a weak smile.
"Do you think he's done well so far?" I asked gently, and her smile became genuine.
"Yes. I have a brave little boy."
With that said she started crying again, and a stagehand came and escorted her off. I looked back at my cues, trying to hold my 'camera smile' steady.
"And next, we'll be having Bumlet's older brother, Toby, joining us."
The door opened and Toby entered, and if I didn't have an extreme degree of self control, my mouth would've been hanging open. What a hottie!
"How are you?" I asked him as he sat down.
"I'm pretty good. Just looking out for my little bro here."
I giggled. Not a good idea on camera- it probably looked pretty stupid. "So what do you think of his performance in the house?"
"I think he's a smart kid. He knows what he's doing. And that's coming from the guy who tried to convince him not to go!"
"What about the other house guests?"
"I think a few of those guys need to get their head screwed on straight. There's some pretty strange people in there."
"I'll agree with you there. Thank you for your time, Toby."
"No prob. Anytime."
I took a deep breath as he walked out, trying to get a reign on my emotions. I quickly read off the cue card. "Now we welcome…all the way from Hope, Kansas…Mush's twin sisters, Linette and Ashley!"
They were not your typical girls- they were both in jeans and flannel shirts and boots, looking ready to go off and do a rodeo. But other than that, they looked like supermodels.
"Hi, girls. How are you?"
Linette (they were wearing name tags for me) laughed and smiled big. "We never thought we'd actually want him to come back so soon, but now we've had to take over all his chores!"
"Yeah, and you'd never believe how much work that kid did in one day on the farm." Ashley pointed out.
"So do you think he's handled the house well?" I asked.
They looked at each other and shrugged. "Yeah, we think he's doing as well as can be expected so far." Linette said.
"What do you guys think of his relationship with Blink?"
Ashley took this one. "It's great that he's made such a good friend so soon. We didn't really expect Blink to be the one he attached to, though."
"Do you think there could be more to their relationship than friendship?"
Linette shook her head insistently. "We come from a strictly Lord-fearing family. He's smart enough to not fall into that pit of sin. He'd go straight to hell!"
"Okay…thank you for coming in. I know it's a long way from your home."
They smiled and left, and another cue card was held up.
"Next up is Racetrack's uncle, Marc Tanner."
Marc walked in, looking very casual. He didn't seem phased at all by the cameras- but then again, from what I understood, he worked in a casino. So cameras shouldn't bother him.
"Hi, Marc. How are you?"
"Never been better!"
"Well, that's nice to hear. So what do you think of how Race has handled the house?"
"He's a natural, Sarah. He definitely knows his way around these head games!"
"And what about the other boys in the house?"
"Aw, they're goners. He's gonna take this like a sour poker game."
"It's nice to hear such confidence. Thank you for sharing your opinion with us!"
"Of course."
Wait for him to exit, read the cue card.
"Now we have Specs's little sister, MariAnne, waiting to talk with us."
A young teen entered the room, full of energy and with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. I could tell she was excited to be on TV.
"So how have you been?"
"I'm great!"
"Well, don't you miss your brother?"
She snickered. "He was always in his room reading anyways. It's barely any different when he's gone."
"So what do you think about the house?"
"I think it's great for him. He needed to get out and do something like this."
Man, this girl was opinionated. "And what about the other house guests?"
"Oh my god, some of them are soooo cute! I'm just about jealous of him!"
"And what about his relationship with Dutchy? Does it bother you that they're this close after only one week?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Naw. Dutchy's awfully handsome. If I can't have him, my big brother may as well! If you're allowed, tell him I said to go for it!"
"But…your other family members say he's not gay."
"He says he's not, but I think he's just hiding it. One of those people who don't know they're gay even though everyone else does, you know?"
"Yeah…I know. Thank you, MariAnne."
"You're welcome!"
Oh, God. Thank heaven that one was over. Now I only had 3 more to deal with.
"Our next guest is Snitch's older sister, Tiffany."
She entered and sat down, and I could see practically no resemblance between her and her brother. Except for the eyes.
"How are you?" I asked, and she shrugged.
"I'm okay."
"And what do you think of the house experience so far?"
"I think he's crazy. I think he needs to get himself booted asap, ya know? This whole deal is insane."
Wow. What an outlook. I needed to make this quick and get her out of here.
"And what do you think of the other houseguests?"
"They're freaky. But I get first dibs on a date with Skittery when he gets booted."
Okay. She's definitely out of here. "Thank you, Tiffany. We'll be sure to pass that along to him when he leaves that house."
"Be sure you do!"
Thank heaven, she was gone. Cue card…
"And now we move on to Jackson Kelly, Cowboy's father."
He swaggered in and sat down in the chair as if everyone in this room belonged to him, then he leaned back and smiled.
"What's up, Sarah?"
"Um…not much. How have you been?"
"I miss my son, of course. It's just not the same without him."
"How do you feel he's handled his first week in the house?"
"Perfectly, of course. That kid is the most intelligent one in there. I just know he'll be taking home that prize money."
"And what do you think of the other boys in the house?"
"None that can stand up to my Cowboy. None at all."
"Interesting. Thank you, Mr. Kelly."
"Your welcome, Sarah."
Back to the cue card, away from the overly egotistical guy. "And last but not least, we have Skittery's aunt, Anastasia Marnique."
A worn looking middle aged lady entered the room, and she looked downright terrified. Not to mention she wore grungy jeans and a faded black t-shirt. She looked like we pulled her straight out of the slums. Maybe we did; hell if I know.
"Hello, Anya. How are you?" I asked sweetly as she sat down on the edge of the chair.
"I'm fine. I'm just fine."
"You've been following this very closely, haven't you?"
"Yes. I've been very worried."
"About Skittery?"
"No…I'm more worried about the poor kids locked up in there with him."
Oh…this had to be interesting. "Why is that?"
She didn't really seem like she wanted to answer that question. "Well…he just…has a lot of problems that need to be sorted out."
"He seems to have been a very nice young man so far."
"It always starts out that way. Just wait until someone makes him mad."
"Do you have any opinions about the other house guests?"
She smiled, a very small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I just love them. All of them. And Mush and Blink make such a cute couple. I'm a psychic, you know. I can tell."
"Really? You're a psychic?" she nodded. "So what kind of future do you see in store for the house and it's occupants?"
I didn't actually expect her to answer, but she seemed to have thought this through by now. "I have seen a lot of turmoil. But I have also seen inner strife with love, and romance, eventually. It will be very interesting, to say the least."
Oh, yes. I knew that by now. Very interesting.
AN: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up- it was hard to write. And goodness gracious, it's long! Anyways…it's two in the morning… I just got back from a concert and stayed up to finish this…….so PLEASE REVIEW!!! I need the support…Also, I'm sorry for any misspellings, because I'm so tired that I didn't bother to proofread it…hopefully it's okay though…* falls over, dead to the world, on her bed *