The Challenge

Chapter Eighteen

She is bored out of her mind. Some people are going for an evening dip in the pool, some are working out and others are just lying around the couches, talking and being lazy. They were instructed not to drink tonight because they have an important daily challenge that will occur at six in the morning, so everyone is very chill.

She enters her bedroom thinking she will just turn in early for the night but she finds Regina playing solitaire on her bunk bed.

"Hey."

"Hey," Regina volleys back, focusing on her game and ignoring Emma yet again.

All of a sudden she doesn't want to sleep and she wants all of this woman's attention.

"You wanna maybe play some cards?" She hesitantly asks, perching herself at the edge of her own bed.

"Sure, once I finish this game."

"Yeah, no problem-" her words are drowned out by the blaring sound of a siren throughout the house. "What the hell is that?" She screams over the ear piercing squeal just as Kristoff and Elsa rush into their room.

Regina's head jerks up, a skeptical eyebrow slithering up her forehead. "A challenge."

"What?"

"This is how they used to inform us that we were heading to a daily challenge."

"It's nighttime," Emma deadpans as the camera zooms in on her face.

"I'm very aware," Regina sighs in exasperation, climbing to her feet and tossing down her cards.

"We don't do daily challenges at night, only during the day."

"Not today," Regina quips, crossing her arms over her chest to remove her shirt, exposing a sports bra beneath. Emma averts her eyes, knowing the camera is analyzing her every move. Through her lashes, she sees her roommate gathering her uniform. "Get dressed, we only have fifteen minutes," she informs her and then disappears into the bathroom.

Emma closes her eyes and breathes through her frustrations because honestly, she wasn't up for cards. All she wants is to crawl into her bed and sleep for about twelve hours but apparently it's time to go to work.

~~~~

When they arrive, she finds herself in a deserted area that very much feels like the middle of a jungle. They are lead through the trees, in the dark with nothing but flashlights guiding their way. The air is muggy this evening and she can already see some of the men starting to sweat (Regina's hair is beginning to curl near her temple but she is actively ignoring that).

Suddenly, it's bright, blinding white lights shining down on a open pit from production which will only make them sweat even more during whatever challenge lies ahead. She quickly glances around, noting how there are nine rows of boxes and each row has three sets of different size boxes. Her eyes frantically search her fellow competitors for answers but everyone is just as confused as she is.

Production lines up the cast, the men standing behind their female partners just as TJ enters from the left.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why you were dragged from the house at night," TJ smugly begins and Emma already knows she's going to fucking hate this challenge. "Welcome to your next challenge," he smirks mischievously, "Up All Night," and he has the audacity to laugh while everyone groans. "You and your partner are going to start off by standing on the larger box on the top level. Your goal, do not fall off. You have to stand on these boxes all night long, sharing the minimal space. No sitting! When you hear an air horn, that is your signal to step down to the next box which will be significantly smaller and then to the last which hardly has any room for two people."