I Am Venus

Chapter One

Chapter One

I landed in Barbados twenty minutes ago. I am so excited to be a competitor in this year Miss Fennal Competition. This year competition is being held in the Caribbean, I entered the competition hoping to get away from London, I need the downtime away from my life home, and the prize money also caught my attention. I saw an add in the London Times, I took the chance to enter and here I am, in paradise. Sometimes taking a leap of faith can do a person good, it certainly did me well in getting me a free trip to Barbados.

"Venus Stewart?" A voice from behind me ask, drawing me out of my thoughts.

A man that looks no younger than twenty-five, stood there, looking at me with a broad smile. He is wearing clean black butler suit, and the name tag on the right of his suit reads. Joe.

"Yes"

"My name is Joe and I am here to take you to the hotel. Welcome to Barbados" he smiles politely.

"Thank you." He takes my bags from my hands to the car. "Are the other contestants here?" I ask curiously

"You are the last one to arrive. Two of the ladies are in the car waiting"

Great, I am late. Again. I am really trying to work my tardiness lately but don't mind how hard I try I am somehow always late. He takes my bag to the sleek silver Mercedes. Classy. They have gone all out for this competition. After putting my bags in the back, Joe, helped me into the car. I greet the two ladies good morning, and they acknowledge me with a slight nod.

I turn my head, rubbing to the back of neck, so that I would not be so obvious at observing the ladies beside me.

This is interesting. These women are drop dead beautiful. They both have a strong confident presence and I have to mention that they are downright sexy. Three of us are all from different entity. I am black, the girl beside me is Caucasian and the other girl on the end is Asian. This will be a fierce competition judging from the ladies beside me.

Twelve hours ago, I left everything behind for the next few months. When I received my acceptance letter, I felt relief. I am hoping I can do well, and go far within this competition. I might get eliminated before the last day of filming. Even if I don't go very far, I refuse to be the first one to get eliminate. That's embarrassing. I packed everything I have and said my good-byes to everyone. Except my mom, not wise, but I will call her later.

The island of Barbados is phenomenal, and beautiful. I can't believe I am in paradise. Driving by, the beaches gave way to business complexes, restaurants, and residential areas made up of everything from turn-of-the-century architecture to newly constructed hotels. I asked Joe where we are now, he said Holetown and that we are almost at the resort.

"I just love the Caribbean" the red head exclaim next to me "Look, there is Limegrove Mall. I can't wait to go shopping, do you you like to shop?" She turns to me excitedly.

Woah, She talks? The entire car ride she have been extremely silent when, now she turns into a energetic bunny? The shift is too sudden for me. Nope. I have to stay away from this one.

Scooting closer to the edge of my seat and staring out the window. I love my country with my entire soul, there no where I would rather live than the United Kingdom, but Barbados has its own charm, I can see myself falling in love with this island.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier. I am Adrianna Charles." She grabs my hand from my lap and shook it vigorously.

Is she on something? Maybe it just kicked in. That can't be it.

"Venus" I introduce myself when she took a breath. But I didn't have time for anything more before Adrianna began again with a running commentary on scenery around us.

Apparently, she has been here before and won't shut the hell up about everything she's done and hope to do while she's here, she even went as far to say she's staying a few extra days after the competition to 'unwind' Shoot me now, put me out of my misery. One thing for sure, I refuse to share a room with her!

The Mercedes stop in front of Dandy Pane Resort. As I step out, the smell of fresh sea breeze tingles my nose. It's more beautiful than I could have ever thought.

They lead us though the gorgeous grounds of the resort to a large conference room. Other people have already seated around the round table. They are six other women. I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. I am in the presence of Goddesses. They are all so magnificent. 

As soon as I took my seat, Samantha Greene, the show executive producer arrived and gave us a run down of protocols and rules of the competition.  We had already signed confidentiality agreements detailing these rules. She reiterated that we would have no access to television or Internet. Also, during any telephone calls with family and friends we weren't allowed to discuss details regarding the show until the show is finished aired. She also specify the importance of being aware of the cameras while also ignoring them. We will be filming everyday except for Sundays. That will be only day which everyone will be able to relax. For the next three weeks we are all going to be extremally exhausted from the crazy film times she mentioned. 

Perfect.

“So, are you ready to see where you’ll be spending most of your time for the three weeks?” Samantha claps her hands together, and we all said a loud yes, exception for Adrianna that jumped out of her chair.

Samantha walk towards the door, her movements uptight and straight. She has a strong demanding aura of dominance. She looks like she's in her mid-thirtys, and she’d mention earlier that she been working for Fannel for fifteen years. From the way she spoke of her brief history working for the company, this isn't just a career but a passion she loves dearly.

We wouldn’t meet the mentors or the host until filming began. The producers wanted our authentic reactions introductions on film. We would meet them for the first time later after we have lunch.

As we make our way through the room that the competition will be held in, the camera's are already set up all over the space.

“Okay, ladies, take a few minutes to look around. After lunch we’ll start filming, and your access to the area will be limited to challenge time only.” Samantha announce.

We all move quickly, eager to memorize the area. I can only hope the layout would be the same every day. As I circle the area, I commit the location of the closets, shoes, and accessories on my way to the backstage of the catwalk. Metal racks, contain various evening gowns, swimsuits, and, among other things, a larger variety of designs than I ever had the luxury of wearing or buying.

Samantha called us out of the closets. She directs the group to a large space where we will spend much of our downtime between shots. Comfortable-looking sofas, and three squre tables and chairs spread out over the other side. She left us to enjoy lunch—a variety of gourmet salads and local food. When we are finish eating, someone would return to take us to hair and makeup.

Tonight we will be on camera for the first time. As we settle around the tables, I somehow find myself once again group with Adrianna. Eating slowly is the only way to calm my nerves chewing away at my appetite. Adrianna dominates the conversation once more, Adrianna seems like a sweet girl, but I couldn’t fathom how much energy it took to stay so wound up, she was probably saving her energy this morning when I met her for this moment. I share an understanding smile with the other ladies and force down another bite. I don’t know what time we would finish filming and didn’t want hunger slowing me down later.

I hope you will enjoy reading Venus as much as I enjoy writing it. Please let me know what you think so far. Thank you for reading :)

Montana Jaymes