Always My Home (The Aster Lake Series Book 2)

by Alora Kate

  “I’ll get to the point,” he said and I turned my head in curiosity. “That text message we got this morning – who we sit with is important today.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “They told us to pick our seat wisely and they only want two people to a seat.”

  He was right but I didn’t say anything. The possibilities were endless and I wanted to focus on making it through day one.

  “I think we’re doing something today,” he met my eyes and smiled, “other than getting to know each other.”

  “Lame,” I said, and it reminded me of my short conversation with Rocco last night.

  “Beautiful,” he shot back and continued to stare into my eyes. I think he might be worse than Rocco when it comes to flirting.

  The door opened and two middle-aged men filed into the middle seat. They had to be in their forties, and they both smiled at me while they buckled up. It wasn’t a flirty smile, they were just as nervous as I was.

  “You guys beat us,” the one wearing the blue jacket said. His short brown hair was thinning in areas, leading to a small bald spot on the crown of his head. My new friend turned in his seat facing them. “You guys know each other?”

  “No,” they both replied. But the one in the blue jacket continued, “On the same floor though. You guys?”

  I said, “No”, while he said, “Yes.”

  “We met in the hallway last night when I rescued her.”

  “What happened?” the balding guy asked, concerned.

  “He didn’t rescue me from anything,” I informed them while smacking him on the arm. “I tripped, nothing more. Stop being dramatic.”

  The two guys in the back seat laughed at us and I turned around in my seat.

  “I’m Isaac,” he told them.

  I slowly moved my eyes towards him without moving my head. One of them was named George, and the other was Josh. I wasn’t sure who was who because I had my eyes on Isaac. They were talking about the show but I wasn’t paying attention to the words. Isaac was smiling the entire time he was talking and it relaxed me seeing him so laid back and calm. Plus, he had a beautiful smile.

  Two more men rushed into the van and sat in the far back seat. The van immediately pulled away from the curb as the driver yelled, “Seat belts.” I already had mine on and when Isaac turned around, I noticed he had his belt on also. I was the only girl in my van and now I was worried that I was the only one on the show. I would think they’d try to have at least a few girls to balance it out, but usually men were the ones using hammers and saws.

  A few miles down the road someone from the back spoke, “We’re heading towards the junk yard.”

  “How do you know?” another man asked.

  “I just saw the sign.”

  “Doesn’t mean anything.”

  “We’re building shit, it’d make sense to have us use junk and try to make something out of it.”

  “This isn’t the only junkyard in the city, but it’s the largest.”

  I didn’t keep track of the men’s voices. We were here to compete against each, not make friends. The van turned and I looked out the front window at the sign; sure enough, we were at the New York City Junk Yard.

  My nerves spiked and I felt hot and sweaty within seconds. I’ve never worked with junk.

  Isaac reached over, put his hand over mine, and said nothing, but he smiled and winked at me. The van moved through a few rows of junk, literally piles of metal everywhere, and slowly came to a stop.

  “Out,” the driver said as he put the van in park. He left it running while we piled out. Isaac waited for me as I was the last one to exit the van and walked beside me. I glanced over and saw the other six contestants, five more men and one girl. At least I thought it was a girl. She wore all black with no noticeable makeup, but her facial piercings were decoration enough.

  “Don’t worry,” Isaac said bringing my attention back to him.

  “About what?”

  “You’re prettier than her.”

  I felt myself blushing but ignored it and kept walking. We saw two people standing about a block away; one man and one woman. The dirt was a little soft and I tried very hard not to lose my balance as we made our way to stand in front of them. There was a white line drawn in the dirt, like a starting mark, and we all lined up on it in front of the man and woman.

  “Welcome, contestants!” the woman said, flashing us a fake smile. “As soon as you stepped out of the vans, the cameras started rolling.” Oh shit. I tensed up and gripped my purse strap that I was holding in front of me. I saw a few people look around but I kept my eyes on her. Getting sick on camera within a few minutes of being on the show would be embarrassing.

  “CUT!” a man yelled behind us and we all turned our heads. Three men walked passed us and stood by the woman who just spoke. I’m assuming her and the man next to her are the hosts of the show. “I’m the producer, Matt. These two,” he pointed, “are your hosts for the show. We’re trying to do things different this year so you’ll get as little info as possible as we go.”

  Great.

  “These two are my assistants, Jane and Bobby.” Jane was tall and skinny, and Bobby was dressed like he was ready for the runway, not the junk yard.

  “Try not to look at the cameras, pretend they’re not here. The same goes for the staff. We’ll try to be invisible as much as possible. Anytime you hear me yell CUT, the cameras shut off.”

  “You’re all assigned colors, which comes into play for as long as you remain on the show. Your ID lanyards are being handed out.” He motioned towards Jane and Bobby, who were opening their bags and moved to hand out the lanyards. Bobby sauntered up to me, placing a pink lanyard in my still trembling hand.

  After a few minutes, Matt continued, “You all now have your show ID. I need you to dig out your driver’s license and place it in your lanyard, behind your show ID. You MUST wear the lanyard at all times while on set, being filmed, doing confessionals; all of it. I suggest you put it on before you leave your apartment and don’t take it off until you get back to your apartment.”

  There was a faint noise of Velcro opening, wallets snapping shut, and quiet conversation as I dug out my ID. I slipped it into place and pulled my lanyard over my head. I glanced around quickly, noticing that Isaac’s lanyard was black.

  “You have a challenge that starts today,” Matt announced. Without looking, I knew Isaac was smiling; he was right after all. “If you look behind you, you all have a cameraman assigned to you. Again, they don’t exist. They also have a matching lanyard so you don’t forget who your man is.”

  We all turned around and saw them standing behind us, cameras in their hands with headsets around their necks.

  “You’re allowed to talk to them when the cameras are off, but not during filming. This junk yard will be home base for the entire show. We have a section cornered off just for us. After this challenge, you’ll be given more information and get to see where you’ll be spending most of your time.”

  A junk yard! Last year they were in an industrial building with heat and electricity. The supplies were brand new. I’m going to freeze if I have to work outside.

  “You’re all getting a wagon; it’s the color that was assigned to you with a pair of new gloves that you’ll need to wear for every challenge while out looking for items. You’re not allowed to use anything other than the wagon to transport your things.”

  Jane and Bobby left at some point and they were each pulling two wagons, and people followed them with the rest. They were placed behind us.

  “You’re allowed to talk to your fellow contestants while filming, socialize, strategize, and talk about what your making; however, you won’t be allowed to see what your fellow contestants made until it’s time for the judges to do their jobs.”

  They’ve made it clear that we are strictly on a need-to-know basis. Twist and turns are going to happen, and I’m getting the feeling that they will happen a lot this season.

&nb
sp; “Jane and Bobby will bring you bins for your personal belongings. You’re allowed to keep your phone with you, but remember you all signed confidentiality agreements and can’t discuss the show with anyone outside of production or contestants.”

  Jane and Bobby collected our items, one by one. I gave them my purse and felt a little naked not having it with me. It was always with me, like a lifeline. I shoved my phone in my coat pocket.

  “Told ya,” Isaac whispered out the side of his mouth. I wanted to hit him but I would wait.

  “If you’re doing something wrong, your camera guy will stop filming and inform you. We only provide lunch, so eat breakfast before you come. I’ll let the hosts introduce themselves, then we’ll get started with the challenge.

  “I’m Nicole,” the blonde host said immediately. “I’ve worked with Matt on a few other shows if you’re wondering why I look familiar.” She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and I heard Matt snort. I pursed my lips together trying not to laugh. Nicole was probably Miss Popularity in high school, along with being the head cheerleader. I could already tell she thinks her shit doesn’t stink.

  “I’m Cole,” the male host said. He was wearing a blue hat with the show’s name on it. “My first time hosting, but I’m glad to be here.”

  I briefly wondered why they didn’t have the hosts from last year, but didn’t have time to think about it.

  “For your first challenge…” Matt took over again and everyone straightened up, enamored by what he was about to say. “Look around the junk yard. There are green and red balloons and tape throughout the aisles behind us. Green is safe, red it not. Pretty simple, right? You’re not allowed to be in the red aisles. Green is safe and you’re allowed anything in those areas. Make sure you pay attention. If you’re caught taking from the red aisle, you’ll be cut off and only allowed what’s already in your wagon for that challenge.”

  My gaze wandered passed Matt and the hosts, landing on another camera crew. I wonder how many more of them there were.

  “Whatever you can fit and keep in your wagon, without falling out, is yours for the challenge. The first challenge is to build four picture frames. They must all be different, and the minimum size is eight by eleven.”

  I felt a trickle of confidence hit my stomach and I smiled. Picture frames. I could do picture frames. I taught a class on pictures frames. But it wasn’t from a junk yard.

  “Your tools will be provided to you after the first part of the challenge. For this one, you’ll be given an hour to find your supplies. You must be standing on this white line, with your wagon, by the end of the hour. If not, you’ll be penalized later in the challenge.”

  This place was huge. I grimaced as I looked down at my shoes. Wedges were better than heels, but still not the best choice for the junk yard. Next time I will wear my rain boots, just so I could walk around better. But then I’d be stuck in them all day and I’d have to wear pure black ones so they’d go with all my dresses. I’m glad I brought my thick tights with-

  “You have one hour!” Matt yelled and walked behind us with Jane and Bobby on his heels. They all put their headsets on and I saw all the cameramen get their cameras ready to film. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

  I got this. Picture frames were a piece of cake.

  “Alright contestants,” Cole said. “You have your wagons, you know the green zones are safe. You have to make four picture frames for this first challenge and you don’t know what supplies you’ll be allowed to use to put them together, so choose wisely.”

  Choose wisely. That’s probably the show’s slogan.

  “Any questions?” Nicole asked and no one said anything while a camera man got in place right in front of them. He had the camera on a stand so it was steady and there were a few people standing by him. There was a cameraman on each side of us, I’m sure for other viewpoints. “Good. When I wave my hand over my head, the cameras will start and we’ll get to the challenge. Follow my lead.” She waved her hand, put on her fake ass smile, and a cameraman counted down from three.

  I know nothing about how they make TV shows, especially reality TV game shows, but this just seemed off to me. Or maybe it was just me being nervous. I’m surprised I’m still standing on my own two feet.

  Fake chick started talking, with Cole adding things here and there, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I was looking around, trying to get some kind of game plan together. Most people would probably head to the closest safe zones, so I was looking for one that might be further out, one that I could have first choice of materials. With no plan in mind, I hoped that when I saw something it would all click together.

  “The horn will buzz giving you a ten minute warning.” I heard Nicole say right before she held up a little gun and pulled the trigger. The bang rang through the junk yard and people started running. I turned around and grabbed my wagon handle and looked up directly into the camera.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  “You can’t cuss on TV,” Isaac said next to me.

  “I looked at the camera!” I stomped away, pulling the stupid pink wagon. It rattled behind me, kicking up small pebbles that hit my calves. “Right at the fucking camera. Why did I do that?”

  The cameraman ended up behind me, along with Isaac’s because Isaac was following me.

  “I looked at the camera, too.”

  He was lying but it was kind of nice that he was trying to make me feel better.

  “Why are you following me?” I snapped. Part of me felt like I was in way over my head.

  Why did I pick a TV show of all things to get me out of Aster Lake?

  “I’m telling you, something is up with the pairing on the van.”

  I huffed, “You still think that?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  Walking as fast as I could, I tried to keep in mind that I couldn’t be any further than ten minutes away. I needed to make sure I was headed back by the time the horn buzzed.

  “Let’s make a bet,” Isaac suggested and my curiosity piqued a little.

  “Go on,” I said, turning down the last aisle of junk on my left, the green balloons my beacon. Crap was stacked higher than my head, but I’m sure it was safe. There were pieces of metal and random car parts lying on the ground.

  “If I’m right, if somehow us sitting next to each other comes into this challenge, then you owe me dinner.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks. The sun was rising and it hit just right on something a few feet away, making the sharp glare impossible to look at. I dropped the wagon handle and took off towards it.

  I dropped my butt to my ankles making sure I wasn’t flashing anyone and picked up a flat piece of metal. It looked new. I flipped it over, inspecting the other side; it was shiny and clean. I looked around, moving what I thought were car parts to see if there were anymore.

  “That’s nice, but kind of small.” Isaac started moving items around also about a foot away from me.

  “Yeah, but maybe if I had enough of them, or maybe I’ll have a way to cut them up…”

  “You have an idea then?”

  “No. You?”

  “Something that will pass. I mainly work with wood and dabble in painting. So anyways, about our bet.”

  I looked up at him but got distracted by the cameraman.

  Don’t look at the camera.

  I focused on Isaac’s eyes.

  Don’t look at the camera.

  “Sure,” I said nervously. “Whatever.” I moved down another foot, away from the camera and Isaac looking for more shiny parts. I found some CDs that were scraped up and bent, so they were tossed aside. I have no idea what I’m doing. Isaac kept tossing things in his wagon and I was freaking out. I had one piece of metal, it was tiny and there was no way it was going to make four picture frames.

  I gave up and grabbed my wagon’s handle. “I need a new aisle.”

  He smirked. “Right behind you.”

  “Hah! Walk next to me and stop lookin
g at my ass,” I hissed.

  The other aisle was more promising and within a few minutes, I had my wagon full of random pieces. I still have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m hoping for a few hours to figure it out. Isaac and I didn’t talk much after that and when the horn went off, we were already headed back. I kept checking the wagon to make sure nothing was falling out and took a few glances at Isaac’s wagon. There was so much in it, I couldn’t really tell what was what.

  There were three men already at the line, which meant with Isaac and I, there were still seven people out there.

  The hosts were talking to Matt and separated a few minutes later, taking their place back where they were. Nicole glanced at Isaac, and reached up and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

  I glanced up at him and he swung his head down to me. “I’m looking forward to dinner.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Yep.”

  I moved so I was standing in front of him. “We’re not having dinner.”

  “I knew you weren’t paying attention.”

  “Paying attention to what?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest, which I know was a bad move since his eyes locked on my chest.

  Again, my jaw dropped and I moved back to my spot, knowing that at any moment now we were going to be moving onto the next phase of the challenge. The other contestants came to the line and I counted making sure all twelve of us were there. Isaac and I had to be the youngest contestants because everyone else looked older. The other girl was at the very end and furthest away, and didn’t seem very approachable. She had her eyes focused on Cole and Nicole.

  Isaac leaned down and whispered into my ear, “You’ve got a nice chest also.”

  I didn’t have time to react to his comment because of her voice.

  “Alright, contestants!” Nicole yelled and I wished Cole would talk more than her. She had a high-pitched voice that hurt my ears. “You have your supplies. Now, let’s go see your work area.”

  “CUT!”

  I felt my entire body relax knowing the cameras stopped.