let him?’ Alyssa answers, narrowing her eyes. ‘I have my own life, Jaxx. I pay my own way.’
‘I didn’t say you didn’t.’
‘It’s what you were thinking,’ Shan says. ‘Admit it.’
I suck in a breath, bite my cheeks. ‘If you must know,’ Alyssa continues, ‘I’ve been working in an office to save up. Sebastian did nice things for me, the things you all saw in the gossip columns I’ll bet, but…’
‘She’s not a money-grabbing fame-whore,’ Shan finishes.
‘Thank you.’
‘You’re an idiot, then,’ Jaxx says and my fists clench. The jock’s pissing me off now.
‘Who the hell are you to judge her, let alone for not taking advantage of some celebrity?’ I snap at him. ‘That’s honourable of her, don't you think?Considering she’s on the M-List? Would you have the done same thing?’
‘Hell no,’ Jaxx laughs, ‘I’ll take money from whoever offers.’
‘Then guaranteed no one will ever offer you any,’ I say. Everyone’s looking at me.
‘My parents ran a tiger sanctuary in Chitwan National Park,’ Journey cuts in suddenly. ‘I haven’t eaten meat since we left Kathmandu, ten years ago.’
Shan flops back in the sand as she goes into a story about how she was taken to a slaughterhouse with her Nepalese classmates and was scarred when she saw a severed water buffalo’s head on the floor, but I’m only half listening now. I can feel Alyssa’s eyes on me, piercing the side of my face. I should’ve kept my mouth shut… again. What the hell is my problem?
I stand up, reach for a metal container and walk towards the well as the camera guy follows me. When I get there, footsteps behind me make me turn sharply. For a second I’m certain it’s going to be her. But it’s Jaxx.
‘Dude, I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Look, I’ve been wanting to tell you something. I’m not an asshole.’
‘You’ve been wanting to tell me that? ’ I say, fixing the container to the ropes and lowering the bucket down into the well.
‘No. I found this.’ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a string of shells on a leather cord. I drop the ropes . Damn.
‘The immunity charm,’ I say, reaching for it. ‘Where did you find it?’ I study it, turning it over in my hands like it’s buried treasure, when really the production team have likely stitched it together in ten minutes. But owning this means no one can vote you out.
‘It fell from the coconut tree when you were up there. No one else saw. They were all watching you,’ Jaxx says. His eyes are gleaming. Mine narrow instantly.
‘Why are you telling me?’ I say, handing it back at him.
‘Because I don’t want to keep any secrets from you. Look, it’s pretty obvious you’ve got the alpha dog thing down. I could use this against you the moment they turn… which they will… but I need you on my side. I know I’m not the most popular guy here, but neither are you, Joshua. We can use this together. I’ll share it. You keep me in the game, I’ll keep you in the game.’
My eyes are still narrowed. Do I trust him?
‘Think about it. We’re the strongest here, dude. Mike’s out tomorrow, Shan lost the last challenge and you’ve seen Punk – he can’t even break into a fucking coconut. The girls know we’re stronger, they’re gonna try and get us out of the game eventually. We need to make sure it’s us in this to the finish.’
My arms cross as I study all two hundred and fifty-five pounds of him. He’s right. I need to keep my shit together to beat Jaxx, too. I need to win; that’s all that matters. But his words about my lack of popularity sting suddenly. I know I’ve been distant at times… and yes, I could’ve kicked the shit out of Mike this afternoon. Do people think I’m a liability?
‘If it looks like I’m out I’ll use this, but if it looks like you’re heading out, I’ll volunteer it, on the condition that you keep it quiet. No one finds out. Just us,’ Jaxx says, dangling it in front of
‘I didn’t say you didn’t.’
‘It’s what you were thinking,’ Shan says. ‘Admit it.’
I suck in a breath, bite my cheeks. ‘If you must know,’ Alyssa continues, ‘I’ve been working in an office to save up. Sebastian did nice things for me, the things you all saw in the gossip columns I’ll bet, but…’
‘She’s not a money-grabbing fame-whore,’ Shan finishes.
‘Thank you.’
‘You’re an idiot, then,’ Jaxx says and my fists clench. The jock’s pissing me off now.
‘Who the hell are you to judge her, let alone for not taking advantage of some celebrity?’ I snap at him. ‘That’s honourable of her, don't you think?Considering she’s on the M-List? Would you have the done same thing?’
‘Hell no,’ Jaxx laughs, ‘I’ll take money from whoever offers.’
‘Then guaranteed no one will ever offer you any,’ I say. Everyone’s looking at me.
‘My parents ran a tiger sanctuary in Chitwan National Park,’ Journey cuts in suddenly. ‘I haven’t eaten meat since we left Kathmandu, ten years ago.’
Shan flops back in the sand as she goes into a story about how she was taken to a slaughterhouse with her Nepalese classmates and was scarred when she saw a severed water buffalo’s head on the floor, but I’m only half listening now. I can feel Alyssa’s eyes on me, piercing the side of my face. I should’ve kept my mouth shut… again. What the hell is my problem?
I stand up, reach for a metal container and walk towards the well as the camera guy follows me. When I get there, footsteps behind me make me turn sharply. For a second I’m certain it’s going to be her. But it’s Jaxx.
‘Dude, I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Look, I’ve been wanting to tell you something. I’m not an asshole.’
‘You’ve been wanting to tell me that? ’ I say, fixing the container to the ropes and lowering the bucket down into the well.
‘No. I found this.’ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a string of shells on a leather cord. I drop the ropes . Damn.
‘The immunity charm,’ I say, reaching for it. ‘Where did you find it?’ I study it, turning it over in my hands like it’s buried treasure, when really the production team have likely stitched it together in ten minutes. But owning this means no one can vote you out.
‘It fell from the coconut tree when you were up there. No one else saw. They were all watching you,’ Jaxx says. His eyes are gleaming. Mine narrow instantly.
‘Why are you telling me?’ I say, handing it back at him.
‘Because I don’t want to keep any secrets from you. Look, it’s pretty obvious you’ve got the alpha dog thing down. I could use this against you the moment they turn… which they will… but I need you on my side. I know I’m not the most popular guy here, but neither are you, Joshua. We can use this together. I’ll share it. You keep me in the game, I’ll keep you in the game.’
My eyes are still narrowed. Do I trust him?
‘Think about it. We’re the strongest here, dude. Mike’s out tomorrow, Shan lost the last challenge and you’ve seen Punk – he can’t even break into a fucking coconut. The girls know we’re stronger, they’re gonna try and get us out of the game eventually. We need to make sure it’s us in this to the finish.’
My arms cross as I study all two hundred and fifty-five pounds of him. He’s right. I need to keep my shit together to beat Jaxx, too. I need to win; that’s all that matters. But his words about my lack of popularity sting suddenly. I know I’ve been distant at times… and yes, I could’ve kicked the shit out of Mike this afternoon. Do people think I’m a liability?
‘If it looks like I’m out I’ll use this, but if it looks like you’re heading out, I’ll volunteer it, on the condition that you keep it quiet. No one finds out. Just us,’ Jaxx says, dangling it in front of
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