𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘄 ━━━━ roman kemp

━━━━ two

"You know, if the food was gourmet and the toilet wasn't a bucket, then this would be my ideal vacation," Mathilda decides, having woken up in high spirits on her first morning in camp. Cliff complains of a lack of sleep and the others add in their two cents, but Mathilda won't let her good mood be tarnished.

The jungle is the perfect place for meditation and self-reflection, and spending it with people from all walks of life in the middle of Australia is a dream come true.

"If you could invite any celebrity to join you here, who would it be?" she questions, sparking an interesting debate. They all share their thoughts on who they would invite, and Mathilda is the last to decide. "I mean, if it was just about survival then Bear Grylls, for sure," she reasons.

Kate nods. "That's very sensible."

"But," Mathilda continues, "I think I'd choose somebody that I would have a laugh with, so maybe somebody like Ryan Reynolds."

Once again, Kate nods, smiling. "Oh, I do love him," she gushes, "very funny, very handsome."

Andrew grins, attempting to join in their conversation. "Very easy on the eyes," he says, feigning a swoon that makes them all laugh loudly. "I bet he'd be a right good laugh, would Ryan."

They continue on to discuss various subjects until they begin to tire, pausing to take a nap. Mathilda cannot remember her dream when she awakens, but she has a distinct craving for meat feast pizza. Before she can delve too much into it, her sleep is disturbed by the surprise arrival of Jacqueline Jossa and Myles Stephenson.

"Howdy!" Jacqueline greets happily, Myles echoing the sentiment.

Mathilda stands up quickly, feeling a little dizzy from the action but she manages to stay on her feet as she envelopes Myles into a hug. "Hi, I'm Mathilda," she introduces herself to save any humiliation in case they don't recognise her.

"You're in Game of Thrones, aren't you?" Jacqueline asks after they have hugged. "Oh, and you're Tom Holland's sister!"

Truthfully, Mathilda likes that she had mentioned her television show first, as people tend to primarily recognise her from premieres and events that she attends with her brothers. To be recognised for her own work is thrilling, even if most everybody knows who she is anyway. After all, Game of Thrones is an extremely popular show.

"That's me," she confirms. "I used to watch you in EastEnders, and I loved Rak-Su on X-Factor," she continues, looking between the new arrivals in turn. "Welcome to the Jungle Jailhouse!"

"It looks interesting," muses Myles with a scrutinising glance. "I think it'll be a lot better when it's filled with the smells of the six star meal we won earlier!" he exclaims as they all cheer.

"Yes!" screeches Mathilda, hugging Jacqueline tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The knowledge that they will be eating well helps to maintain the general cheer in the camp for several hours, even as the six celebrities simply lounge around and get to know one another.

"Are you interested in sports, Mathilda?" Kate asks curiously.

"Please, call me Tilly," the girl in question says, grimacing at the use of her full name. It sounds far too formal for her liking. "But, yeah. Most people are surprised by the fact that I actually love football. I played when I was younger and I originally wanted to pursue it as a career, but I gave it up when I started acting professionally because I just didn't have the time," she reminisces, unable to stop a wistful smile from gracing her lips at the onslaught of memories.

"That's incredible," Cliff comments. "How old were you when you started acting?"

Mathilda thinks for a moment. "I have always been involved with plays and local theatre productions but it wasn't ever a serious thing until I went to support Tom in his debut as Billy Elliot and suddenly I was like that's what I want to do! So I threw my hat in the ring for Sansa Stark and started filming just after my thirteenth birthday," she relays the story, still in disbelief over the whole thing. "Moving to Ireland was a whirlwind; I had to stay with my godparents who live over there and it was horrible to be away from my family for so long but they came over to visit a lot and I've recently moved back to London."

━━ IN THE BUSH TELEGRAPH ━━

"It's always crazy to talk about my career," Mathilda says. "I've been so blessed with the roles I've landed and the people I've met along the way. It all still seems like an elaborate fever dream, to be honest." She laughs a little. "Obviously I wouldn't change it for the world, but it is nice to be taking some time off and just relaxing in the Australian jungle with a bunch of other helpless celebrities suffering an existential crisis," she jokes.

"The mood in camp has been fantastic. Myles and Jacqueline are wonderful additions to our little family and the fact that they have brought back six stars is just the icing on the cake. I hope there's cake," she adds as an afterthought. "Gooey, chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and strawberries..."

━━ IN THE JUNGLE JAILHOUSE ━━

"Do you write all the songs for Rak-Su?" Mathilda asks Myles curiously, keen to learn more about the curly-haired male sitting beside her.

"Yeah. Me, Jamal, and Ashley write all the lyrics that we sing or rap," Myles says before divulging the story of how they had all known each other in school. It is truly fascinating to hear the origins of their band's formation. It is just as interesting to hear Jacqueline talk about the soaps, and Mathilda admits that she loves to watch them with her brothers, mostly Harry, whether that is whilst they sit together or if they are on the phone to one another.

After showers and a little exploring, dinner arrives and Myles takes the lead on the cooking.

"You're wasted as a singer," Mathilda tells him, shovelling the food into her mouth. "I want to buy your cookbook just as much as I want to buy your album."

Myles chuckles. "I'll keep that as a Plan B," he jests but Mathilda knows that he could easily choose to pursue that avenue if he wished to because his culinary skills are fantastic.

The aroma of the food travels for miles, but the tranquillity of the eating is briefly disturbed when Andrew begins choking on his portion. They all scramble to thump his back, asking repeatedly if the man is alright. Luckily, he is and soon he's laughing and joking once more.

Sleep comes easily enough after that, the sounds of the jungle and Myles' soft snores providing a soothing soundtrack.

It isn't until the next day that things drastically change. Myles teaches them all how to salsa dance - with Mathilda helping him out a little with a partnered demonstration, having grown up with an older brother who loves to dance - and they remain blissfully unaware of the debate about which original outlaw should be freed by James Haskell and Caitlyn Jenner. James originally thinks Mathilda because she is a female and he has been raised as a gentleman, but ultimately they select Cliff because he isn't as young and spry as the girl, and he would likely be more appreciative of a bed than she would be.

When Kate delivers the news from the other end of the phone, Mathilda only nods and smiles before hugging Cliff farewell.

"I don't mind staying," she assures everybody who gives her a sympathetic glance, "you lot are fun to be around and we've eaten well so far so I'm not too bitter about it."

In all honesty, the idea of entering a unified camp and trying to fit into their dynamic is more than a little daunting. While she is sure that the celebrities are all lovely, staying in the jailhouse for a little longer doesn't seem too terrible in Mathilda's eyes. Cliff looks ecstatic with the impending upgrade as he sings a silly tune and they all dance around freely, looking stupid but feeling happy.

"I hope you get parole soon!" Cliff calls as he leaves, making them all snicker. When his retreating form disappears completely, Jacqueline pulls Mathilda into a side-hug.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asks with genuine concern.

The younger woman nods her head, long hair splaying in the warm breeze. "Absolutely."