THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶Let the Games Begin¶

Ace

"Hey, would you mind if I took over?" Ace asked.

He didn't really want to take over, but at the rate they were going, most of the housemates would end up with sprained shoulders and painful thighs. The exercise instructor tapped his airpods, and nodded at Ace after a few seconds, before moving to the side to give him space and watch what he did.

"Good morning. So I'm a gym instructor and those exercises aren't really good for most of you who are beginners. So how about we start again with easier exercises?" The exercise instructor grunted, not so silently, at Ace's back. Most of the housemates shrugged in response, they had done less than ten minutes of exercises so their energy level would still be high. Ace nodded, and gave the housemates directions to run twice around the wide garden that doubled as their exercise room.

"Good job man." One of the housemates said, lightly slapping Ace on the back as he strode past. Ace smiled and rubbed his neck as he sat down, rolling it from side to side to loosen the kinks. Usually, he didn't get this tired during gym classes, but then he had never instructed eleven people at once. Ace yawned as the nice scent of food drifted into his nostrils, making him hungry. He stood up and moved into the kitchen where someone was stirring up a really nice meal.

"That smells amazing." The chef rose her head up and beamed at him.

"Thanks. I can't finish it all." She pointed at the oven, still smiling. It was simple courtesy to compliment someone whenever and however you could, especially if it was the truth.

Ace eagerly nodded, not one to pass up free food. He sat down at the kitchen counter and watched the girl as she baked, the apron she wore stretched tightly around her body and as she stirred the food, she ate a granola bar, she also appeared to be his age (everyone here did) and he spotted a red rose tattoo on her exposed shoulder. Wait, was she the one who had been insulted yesterday about her looks? He raked over her facial features, he decided she was prettier than that girl, but was there another plus size girl? He decided to ask for her name.

"What's your name? I forgot nearly everyone's names after yesterday." He nearly added an apology, no one liked having their name forgotten only a day afterwards.

She didn't seem offended, "It's Penny. What's yours?"

"Ace." She smiled again and offered him a granola bar.

"Think of it as an appetizer to prepare your tastebuds for what's coming." He remembered her now, the girl with  brightly-coloured hair had snickered and told everyone a stupid joke about her dog, Penny.

The girl in front of him instantly retaliated. "Your dog seems to be good at tricks, what can you do?" No further mean comments were made.

Ace shifted his focus back to the present where Penny stood opposite him holding two steaming plates. She dropped a plate at his front. "When I leave here, I want to start regular gym lessons and I think you'll have the patience to deal with me." Ace looked down, he couldn't remember eating a plate of peach cobbler that looked this good. Was she serious about gyming lessons or it was an invitation for something more?

He had to ask. "Really, what makes you think so?"

She took a bite out of her meal and shrugged. "Anyone who can handle eleven different people at once is capable of handling just me." Again with the double meanings. "So will you do it? If you're worried about locations and addresses, don't worry I will find you easily."

At this point, all Ace wanted to do was run away. He didn't remember much, but he knew ladies weren't usually this upfront. He wasn't even sure of where he was headed after this, he planned to use the the cash prize (if he won it) to go back to the hospital in Oklahoma and ask some vital questions.