Groom Wars

29. I Rise

Leandro and Steven, hemmed in on both sides by their fellow participants, walked down a dirt path illuminated by lamps. Dark greenery flanked them. Far above, the silver face of the moon hung in the night sky, accompanied by a dusting of stars. Ignoring the beauty of the night, the group approached the glade; the grass ended, and the land dipped into a giant hole. Leandro stood near the edge and peered down.

A set of bleachers had been placed on one side of the dirt pit; a pyramid sat in its centre.

The assistant directors told the players to descend via nearby twin metal staircases. As Leandro and Steven made their way forward, someone muttered, "Nice makeup."

Their tone was more snarky than complementary, but Leandro said, "Thank you. I think so too." He made sure to smile, knowing that his effortless grin had a way of aggravating people.

The commenter frowned and pushed ahead.

Leandro looked over his shoulder, but he didn't see Adriel. They had been placed in different buses while they travelled. Leandro touched the paint on his face and found it dry. He remembered the coolness of the boy's fingers sliding across his skin.

A few steps more, and Leandro reached the staircase; his hand slid along the rail as he descended.

Leandro studied the arena, predicting what it held for their future. An army of lights placed strategically across the terrain brightened the dirt field. In the middle of the pit, the pyramid carried hand and footholds on each of its four walls, so the challenge was probably something to do with rock-climbing. What confused Leandro was the pile of fifteen flags by each of the four sides. The competitors probably had to store them somewhere, but where?

Following the director's orders, the boys took their place in the bleachers.

Van Cervantes took his place in front of the participants and greeted them. He smiled and said, "Welcome to your first elimination round."

Some of the people in the stand let out a loud cheer; half of them had been prompted by the new PD, Cara Johnson, who had pointed to a sign that read 'cheer'.

Van continued, "This pit is called Nirvana. Every three days, two teams will battle here. One will fall, while the other triumphs and rejoins the rest of their housemates."

Another cheer.

Van enjoyed his applause, then said, "One of the teams has already been selected. This morning, every team, excluding the first challenge winners, received the opportunity to vote one team into elimination. You selected...." He paused for a moment, probably to build anticipation. He pointed at the Valente brothers and said, "Leandro and Steven Valente."

Leandro and Steven had been positioned near the edge of the third row by the staff, so without pushing past anyone, they jogged down a set of steps and went over to where Van waited.

Van said, "Leandro, you had a bit of a scandal this week, didn't you?"

Leandro smiled, but it felt forced, strained. His lips twitched. This show was incredibly annoying. "Yes, I was accused of having a relationship with one of the other participants."

"The two of you are quite close."

Leandro said, "He's like a little brother. That's all. But people like to spread rumours; it's their nature. I've learned to ignore them. With cameras following us every second of the day, if we had done anything, you would all know by now."

Steven grinned and chuckled softly.

Van asked, "What's with the smile?"

Steven said, "I like to smile, Van."