Octavia Jacobs- District Two female (18)
I hadn't gotten over how strange it felt to wash clothes. At Cassius' estate we had servants for that kind of thing. Even as a kid we'd had a washing machine. It was easier than I'd thought. It wasn't easy easy, but easier than it seemed. At home the wash cycle took half an hour, but it only took a few minutes of scrubbing and mixing around for our clothes to look pretty good in the river. True, they didn't have the crisp clean look of my clothes at home, and they were wrinkly and sort of loose, but it was good enough.
"Now I'll be able to catch a good woman," Val said as he laid out Yarrow's pants. Sometimes we washed our own clothes, but it made sense to gather some up if we were making the trip anyway.
"Good, because you can't rely on your looks," I said.
"Incorrect. Fake. Misinformation," Val said.
"And it's on film, so it's defamation," Leo chimed in. He'd noticed us on the way to the river and joined in, like the goody two-shoes he was.
I tutted at them as I reached for a shirt that was about to fall off the rock we were perched on. My hand bumped against another hand and I saw that Leo had reached at the same time. His skin was unexpectedly warm, I noticed. I should have expected it- most skin was warm- but I noticed it all the same.
"Oh," Leo said as we both pulled back in surprise. "In elementary school we would have said that meant we were married. But I'm no homewrecker," he added after a brief pause.
"Unless…?" Val's little smirk was insufferable. Usually I would have a thousand smart replies, and I hated that I couldn't think of a single one.
"Get your mind out of the gutter." I settled for a lame stock answer.
For once there was something enviable about Leo's condition. His scarred skin didn't show the red I was sure was in mine. I leaned over the shirt I was washing, pretending it was so dirty I had to get right in there.
"Camera-shy?" Val refused to let up.
"It's not like it's a big deal," Leo said inanely. I tried to hide the smile that tugged at me at the proof that he was similarly flustered.
"It's the soap," I said of the various plants and charcoal and whatnot we'd cobbled together from those of us who knew how to make laundry soap- mostly Persi, whose practical additions to our knowledge set were still felt daily. "It makes my skin red."
"Not your hands," Val pointed out. I couldn't believe my hand WASNT red, actually. I could certainly feel the spot where Leo had brushed it. It stood out as sharp as if it had cartoon lines coming off it. I just thanked my lucky stars Val was smart enough not to say anything outright that might give Cassius leverage.
It's just a crush. The thought was as mournful as it was defensive. I couldn't lie to myself that I didn't feel it. There was nothing shameful about feeling, even if I was married. Maybe it was shameful to be happy Leo felt it too, but I didn't think it was so bad. W couldn't help our feelings. It would only be objectionable if we acted on it. So it was just a crush, like a flower you love but are allergic to. Look, but never touch.
Yarrow Venus- District Three female (17)
"Is it getting tougher to vote with so few people left?"
Yes, is it? Isabella' question was a softball cliche, but this was a rather significant tribal council. The alliance had been shaving off everyone who wasn't in their group. Well, well, well, there was only one left. If they did the obvious thing and voted for me, what would they do next week? Someone would find out that their allies weren't as steadfast as they thought. Or, would someone see the writing on the wall and split off? Someone had to be the least liked in the alliance. Someone had to know their number would be up soon enough. I knew at least one of them was having second thoughts. Probably it wouldn't be enough. But it might.
Leo Fabrizio- District Six male (18)
Yarrow made a really good point. Our alliance couldn't last forever. Someday we'd have to turn on each other. I didn't think I had the political skills to survive that. They probably wouldn't want me at the end anyway. Everyone liked me, which was a kiss of death in this scenario. No one wanted to go up for votes against someone who had no enemies. I couldn't rely on an impossible dream with Octavia to save me, either. If anything, she'd probably lobby for me to go next. She had to put her baby first and it would be easier to do it quickly rather than string me along. So there was a good chance Yarrow was right that a schism was my best shot. But that was a big move to make. I was still waffling all the way up to the moment I wrote down a name. I wasn't the only one, either. A lot of us were so nervous they couldn't hide it.
Val Vella- District One male (18)
"Once the votes are read, the decision is final," Isabella intoned as she reached for the first vote.
"Octavia." She turned the paper around and my heart sank. It was Yarrow's handwriting. I shouldn't have been so sad, really- it was just I'd thought we were friends. But that wasn't fair of me. She was just doing the same thing the rest of us were doing: trying to stay in the game. Octavia was the best target in an attempted coup. She had the "best" reason to win and was thus the biggest threat, especially with a built-in vote from me. Yarrow hadn't done anything wrong and I should have been impressed by her hustle.
The question was: had it worked? She'd come to everyone in the alliance except me and Octavia. She hadn't told Lana who she was planning to target, since she knew that would have been a nonstarter. If Lana had agreed, she probably would have switched targets to me. But had Shep or Leo agreed? They both mentioned Yarrow had come to them. They'd brushed it off like it was no big deal, but only the votes would reveal that.
Shep Howard- District Ten male (18)
In my defense, I was far more principled in real life than on the island. In real life, I kept my word. Even here I hadn't meant to lie to Yarrow. I really had been convinced that flipping was my best bet. It was just a long walk to tribal council- a long time to stew in my thoughts and second-guess myself. I saw Yarrow's lonely handwriting and couldn't help but feel a little sorry about it all.
"Yarrow. That's one vote Octavia, one vote Yarrow, four votes left."
"Yarrow. That's two votes Yarrow, one vote Octavia, three votes left."
My handwriting stared back at me on the next paper. "Yarrow. That's three votes Yarrow, one vote Octavia, two votes left."
I hadn't seen Leo's handwriting yet. The only other one remaining was Lana's big, loopy letters, so it didn't matter anyway. Isabella must have been as snoopy as we were, since I heard the same finality in her voice as she read my vote. The next one was just going to reveal whether Octavia got one vote or two.
"Nineteenth elimination and seventh member of our jury: Yarrow". Isabella reached for the urn before Yarrow could rise. "But before we go on, I would remiss to skip over this." She pulled out the last vote, which was for Yarrow, but there was something more important.
"I'm not sure what this means, but I'm sure someone does," she said of the "love wins" in Leo's handwriting. Val looked gleefully at Octavia, who looked away red-faced.
Yarrow took the opportunity to escape everyone's stares and scarper to the torch pile. She took her torch with dignity and seemed almost bored as Isabella snuffed it. She gave a little shrug and walked away.
Yarrow's final interview: Can't say I expected anything else. That's just the game. I got a lot of money though and the car's pretty nice. Can't complain.
Nineteenth elimination: Yarrow Venus
There wasn't much of an out for Yarrow after last week, but she kept hustling right to the end. Yarrow had an unexpected amount of fans for being so standoffish. She was something of the odd one out in this far more friendly than usual bunch, so I guess the contrast got her some interest. She really wasn't mean or anything. She just wasn't super sweet. She's probably happy to be in Ponderosa where she gets her
own room (idk if that's how it works in real Ponderosa but I'm nice so I'm not making them share rooms).