Chapter 9
She could have kissed the white sand the minute she saw the beach before her. The bright sun casted its rays on the gleaming white sand as Alyson and Lucas pushed through the remaining plants in their path towards the beach. There was a few groups milling about the beach; dressed in their respective team colours. The Blue, Purple, Black and Green teams already arrived ahead of them.
Alyson waved to Tori and Zach, trying to ignore the camera being held right in front of her and Lucas' faces. Evangeline and Michael from the Purple Team, and Isavi and Owen from the Green team, stood up from where they sat on the beach and smiled at them. It seemed as if a new silent comradeship between all of them had been formed after a night in the forest. Magdalene and Jason were sullen as they stood at one corner with frowns on their face as they stared at Alyson and Lucas walking forward.
Bru greeted them with a smile as they arrived on a small sand-sketched rectangular box. "Welcome, Mr. Edwards and Ms. Finland," he handed them a beige coloured envelope, "That's your next challenge. Rules have been changed and the stakes raised. Do wait with the others as we wait for the remaining four teams to arrive."
Lucas nodded before walking off the square box with Alyson towards where the others waited. He opened the envelope in his hands, pausing to place his backpack on the sand before pulling the sheet of paper out. Beside him, Alyson lowered her backpack as well before taking the sheet of paper from his offered hands and skimming her eyes over it.
Ancient civilization tell us that one of men's earliest source of food were rivers and seas. Living together is more than just cohabiting; it also means sharing your basic needs.
Catch fish!
"May you live happily ever after"
© Kensington Media
Perplexed, Alyson looked at Lucas, "That's it? That's a horrible clue card."
Grinning, Lucas looked at her surprised, "On what base do you say that?"
"The lines are not exciting, and there's no hint of mysteriousness or curiosity-seeking elements in the few sentences. There's no spur for adrenaline in those few lines!"
The interested look on Lucas' face could have made her slam her head against an invisible wall - if there was one. She just gave him another disadvantage of the show. Some part of her was simply tired of trying to hide the flaws, trying to boost the image of the show and play compliant although there were certain aspects of the show she too did not like. Lately, more often than not, she had been wondering just how far would they go to hide their identities and just how long more would they have to pretend they were in love? Before taking up Arts and Media as her major field, she had sworn to try to maintain the integrity of reality in her future projects, but the stark realization of what she was doing now made her pause for a moment and swallow.
She glanced at Lucas, his dark brown hair playing with the rays of sunlight and felt her heart tighten a little bit. How long more was she suppose to go on with the façade when she could only admit to herself that the lines - for her at least - was getting if not blurred, then smudged? She cleared her throat and the sudden noise from her throat brought her back to earth, where she realized that Lucas had been saying something.
He looked at her, trailing off when he realized she had not been listening, and asked, "Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale." She nodded, "Lucas -"
"Hey! How are you guys feeling?"
The both of them looked up to see Tori and Zach walking towards them. "We're fine. A bit tired but okay," replied Alyson before continuing, "Do you know what the clue cards meant?"
