I shook my head. “He doesn’t look familiar.”
“That’s my former partner.”
“Former? Is that why he’s looking at you like he wants to step on your face and push you into an early grave?”
Magnus laughed so hard at my statement that others turned in our direction to see what was so funny. I couldn’t help but laugh, too. I was pretty funny, I guess.
“He hates me. That’s for sure. We parted ways at least five years ago and he started his own company which is swiftly becoming one of my chief competitors. He’s doing well for himself.”
“Oh man, did you fire him?”
“No… I gave him two choices and he chose the option to leave.”
“So in other words, you fired him?”
“Kind of.”
“Let’s see… We have an Olympian, a scientist, and your sworn enemy as competitors. I think our chances of winning have just gone down to nil.”
“No biggie. We can take them.”
“You’re way too confident.”
“I don’t know any other way to be. Ready to do this, partner?” He raised his hand to high-five me when someone shouted, “Magnus! Lesli! Over here!”
We looked in the direction of the voice to see Violet struggling to get away from not one, but two security guards.
“Can you tell these guys to let me go? They think I’m some sort of stalker.”
“She’s not allowed on the set,” a security guard said to us.
“You’re not allowed on the set,” I echoed. What could I say? I was a rule follower.
“Fine, just fine. I’ll cheer for you guys from the audience,” she said, swatting at the security guard’s hands. “Leave me alone. I know how to get to the audience side. I do NOT need an escort.” She looked back at me and said, “Good luck, Lesli! You got this, girl!” And to Magnus, she flirtatiously said, “See you tonight.”
She flounced away while the security guards looked on shaking their heads. “We’ll have to keep an eye on that one. She looks like trouble.”
“So, you’re seeing Violet tonight?”
“She’s persistent,” was all Magnus said.
I made a noncommittal sound, but inside I was fuming.
A photographer came by to take a picture of all the contestants and, for some reason, she said to us, “Don’t you guys make a lovely couple.”
“We’re not a couple,” I grumbled.
The photographer winced and mumbled an apology.
“What’s going on with you today?” Magnus had the nerve to ask.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
He looked at me funny and I ignored him. It had been a few weeks since Violet had interviewed and been hired by Jude. She was a great worker and fit in with the team instantly, especially Maya. But I was starting to hate her. It was official, she and Magnus were dating. She had told anyone in the office that would listen.
I knew I didn’t have a right to hate her, after all, I’d had my chance with Magnus and I’d pushed him away. However, it pissed me off to no end that he liked her. And it felt like Violet was betraying me by going out with him. But she didn’t know that I liked him. In fact, I’d gone out my way to talk about how much I didn’t like him. When Violet had mentioned it to me initially that she was going out with Magnus, she’d asked me if I was ok with it. I’d pretended that it was no big deal and had replied, “Have fun!”
But clearly, I was anything but ok. I was angry and had spent the entirety of last week villainizing Magnus and Violet in my head. I knew it was petty, but it was either that or acknowledge that I had feelings for Magnus and the idea of him going out with my best friend made me sick to my stomach.
I felt so stupid for being so conflicted. I knew I was being unfair to Violet who I was now keeping at arm’s length. She’d looked hurt and had asked me if she had done anything wrong. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t like that she was dating Magnus, nor did I want her to know that I was interested in him. So instead I’d given her the silent treatment every now and then. I felt so bad about my behavior. I knew I was being childish, but I was at a loss in terms of what it was that I should be doing.
I broke out of my reverie as the lights popped on and an announcement filled the air.
“It’s time for Brain Pain,” said our host with a beatific smile. He was tall with beautiful hair, and sparkling blue eyes, I finally noticed.
“I’m Mickey Sims. Welcome to our show. Tonight, we have a special charity event for your viewing pleasure. The charity event will last for the next three weeks, so tune in each week for a new adventure where the competing celebrity and a representative from his or her charity compete to win one million dollars.”
The crowd clapped and cheered as queued.
I rolled my eyes and Magnus looked at me with amusement. I knew I was being unnecessarily cranky, but whatever. He was dating Violet of all people.
“Just in case you’re just tuning in, here’s how this show will go. Each challenge will be about strength or smarts. Some challenges will be team challenges and some challenges will be done by one person.”
He briefly explained which charities each of us were competing for and I begrudgingly acknowledged that each of the charities listed was reputable and supported a good cause. I wasn’t very competitive, but knowing that if we lost, it would be to a good cause was enough to make me feel better.
There was the usual game show chitchat and then we were told to stand at our placemats, which had the words pain or brain situated on giant buttons on the floor.
“Teams, in front of you there are two large buttons. One is for pain and one is for brain. When I tell you, one person from the team will make a selection by stepping on either the button for pain or the button for brain. The catch is, that selection will not be for you, but for your partner’s challenge... brain or pain. And the time to choose is now!”
Without hesitation, I jumped on a button, smiled broadly and said, “Pain.”
Before Magnus could say a word, his position was locked in. He looked at me in shock and I smiled brightly at him. God, I didn’t know I could be so bad. And it kind of felt good.
As luck would have it, all the other contestants chose Pain too. I guess we all had a personal vendetta against our partners.
The host looked absolutely delighted by our selections. Too delighted in my opinion. “Look behind you to find out what Brain Pain has in store for you today.”
I happily turned around and as they pulled the curtains back, I saw it. There were four makeshift hills covered in dirt and standing about twelve feet high.
“This will be relatively easy,” the host said. “You just climb that hill and ring the bell at the top. Easy peasy, right?” He gave us a big smile. “But you’ll climb it dragging half your body weight.”
I wasn’t impressed yet. Magnus seemed like a strong guy. He could probably easily pull half his body weight.
The host smiled broadly again. “And did we mention these?”
Suddenly sprinklers came on and each hill slowly became a slippery mess.
“The game is easy. First contestant up the hill wins immunity.”
I couldn’t keep the gleeful smile from spreading across my face. I gave Magnus a thumbs up. “Good luck out there... partner.”
He winced. “I’m going to get you back for this.”
“Now who’s cranky?”
I watched in glee as he was marched to the back to don his costume for the competition. He came out about ten minutes later with the rest of the contestants wearing bright purple jumpsuits and goggles.
I sat down with a bottle of water and prepared to watch the show and, boy, it was quite a show.
Each contestant started the race by standing in front of the hill. I noticed they all had utility belts attached to their waists. The utility belt had a rope attached to it and at the end of the ropes were sandbags. The sandbags were of various sizes, depending on each contestant’s weight. I co
uld see the tension in their shoulders as they waited for the bell to sound.
I was excited and more than a little relieved that Magnus was the lucky participant for this particular challenge.
The bell sounded and immediately Magnus scrambled toward the hill, dragging half his body weight as if it weren’t the size of two toddlers. His sworn enemy was struggling to make it up his own hill and kept slipping and sliding.
“He’s going to slip and fall before they even turn the water back on,” I muttered.
And I was right. The lanky guy went sliding down the hill and landed face down on his own sandbag. I giggled.
The crowd was going wild now. It was just Magnus, the scientist, and the Olympian. I was sure the Olympian was going to win. And then they turned the sprinklers on.
Magnus and the Olympian went sliding back down the hill, covered in mud. Dr. Joseph made her way to the top and was just about to push the button that would give her the win when she lost her footing and went sliding down the hill.
Now it was anyone’s game. The other three contestants were skinnier than Magnus. It wasn’t that he was out of shape, but it was clearly hard to pull so much muscle up the hill, especially a steep wet hill.
Finally, all four contestants had regained their footing and were slowly dragging themselves up. They were covered in mud and I didn’t know how they could even see anymore. Their bright purple jumpsuits were no longer bright or purple, but muddy and gross. Their goggles were covered in dirt and caked with mud. They all seemed to be moving remarkably slower than before.
The crowd was going wild though. It seemed the weaker the contestants became, the wilder the crowd was. I swear I could even hear Violet screeching.
And finally, the contestants were no longer neck and neck. Dr. Joseph was again toward the top, Magnus was about a foot away, as well. The Olympian and Magnus’s enemy were still struggling with their footing and weren’t gaining any ground.
With a heroic effort, Magnus hoisted himself up and was about to hit the button when he lost his footing and went tumbling down the hill. He slid on his back, straight down the hill, and landed with a plop in a puddle of mud. And at that very moment Dr. Joseph hit the button, winning the round and seizing the sprinklers.
I couldn’t help but feel amused as the host went around and tried to interview each contestant. They were all out of breath and spent, leaning against their respective hill.
“That was so hard,” the Olympian said. He then called up to Dr. Joseph, “You’re amazing, Doctor.”
The rest of the audience cheered and the host yelled up to her, “Come on down, Dr. Joseph. You’ve won your team immunity!”
With a whoop and a punch in the air, she gleefully slid down the hill and landed next to the host.
“How does it feel to win immunity and be one step closer to winning a million dollars for your favorite charity?”
“Amazing!” she shouted, and the audience cheered.
“We’re going to get all cleaned up and then we’ll be back after these messages.”
And with that, they cut recording. Magnus’s personal assistant, Dale, showed up and whisked him off. The other contestants were also taken away.
I was having a great time.
Then suddenly a production assistant was standing next to me. “Ma’am, it’s time to get into costume.”
“Excuse me?” I said.
“Your costume. It’s time to get changed.”
“But what’s the challenge? We’re doing another challenge?”
“Oh, I see you’re not familiar with the format of the show.”
“Ummm…yeah. I’m not.”
“Well, Dr. Joseph’s team won, so they don’t have to do anything for this round. Your team, on the other hand, has to do another challenge.”
“Another challenge?”
“Yep.”
“Tell me it’s a brain challenge.”
She laughed. “Nope. Another pain challenge.”
I groaned.
“Tell me I don’t have to climb a hill covered in water and mud.”
“You’ll see,” was the furtive answer I received.
Ten minutes later, I too had on a purple jumpsuit and goggles. I bit my lip waiting to hear what I had to do.
The host smiled. “Welcome back to a special charity episode of Brain Pain. Dr. Joseph and her partner have immunity and are guaranteed a spot in the last round. And who will join them? Will it be Ophelia’s Angels? Dogs Are Love? Or Jesse’s Children? We shall see. Contestants, to your starting places.”
“Good luck,” Magnus said, totally not meaning it. He had a wide smile on his face. It reminded me of my own smile while I had watched him.
I couldn’t help myself. Like a child, I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed.
Suddenly a spotlight came on on the far side of the studio, showing us our next challenge. Three inflatable slides were illuminated with black light and sitting at the base of each slide was a pool of neon green slime.
I wanted to say nope and just walk away, but I couldn’t do that to Jude or Lacey. I had a mission to fulfill and I totally planned to go through with it. I squared my shoulders and took my place next to a ladder in front of a slide. The other contestants did the same.
“Contestants, you have three minutes to find several items that we’ve hidden in the slime. The game is simple. The first person to find the most items before time is up wins. And that time starts… NOW!”
I scrambled up the ladder and then worked my way to the slide. I slid down in a whoosh and then found myself submerged in nasty lime green, sticky, sticky slime. “This is sooooo gross,” I groaned as the slime immediately stuck to my hair, my face, my entire jumpsuit. I bobbed around, searching for anything solid. The audience cheered relentlessly and their encouraging words pushed me to try my hardest.
My hands found the first item and victoriously, I pulled it out of the slime and waded to the side of the pool to toss my item in the net hanging there.
And then I did it again and again, paying no attention to the other contestants or the crowd as I searched as best as I could for another item. “Ten seconds,” the host yelled.
I knew it was now or never. I had avoided diving under, but I desperately wanted to win this one for Ophelia’s Angels. I took a deep breath, dove under, ignoring the feeling of claustrophobia that suddenly overwhelmed me while immersed in the thick slime. Before panic ensued, I grabbed frantically for something solid and, to my surprise, my hands closed over something the size of a grapefruit. Quickly, I came up for a breath and tossed the item, which I now recognized as a ball, into my net. And with that, the bell went off.
Breathless, I pulled at the goggles on my face and tried to wipe them off. It was no use. They were covered in slime. Every inch of me was, but at least without the goggles on, I could see around me. The host sent a team of assistants to count the items in each of our nets. I waited with my sticky fingers crossed. And I wasn’t disappointed.
“And Ophelia’s Angels wins. They’re moving on to the final round!”
Suddenly, Magnus was there. His hands were on me pulling me out of the pool of slime and embracing me in a big hug.
I hugged him back, totally forgetting I was angry with him. And then suddenly I felt other arms wrapped around the both of us. Violet was hugging me and Magnus.
It was a giant group hug and I knew we looked ridiculous, but what the hell, I thought. How often was a girl hugged by her best friend and the man of her dreams all at once?
The thought gave me pause. Was Magnus the man of my dreams? If so, I’d thrown away my chances of being with him.
I reluctantly pulled myself out of his arms but Violet stayed holding on to Magnus. They were both covered in slime thanks to my disgustingness, but they didn’t seem to mind.
The host was interviewing me. “Great job. How do you feel?”
“Accomplished.”
The host’s smile was genuine. “Well, you certainly acco
mplished a whole lot. We’ll see you here tomorrow. Same time. Same place. Tune in for more Brain Pain when our finalists, Ophelia’s Angels and the Cycle Psychos, will battle it out for the grand prize of one millionnnnnnn dollars!”
And suddenly that was a wrap. The host left without uttering another word.
I looked around, confused and then a production assistant appeared and handed me a towel. “Good job.”
The other contestants congratulated me and I thanked them as I tried to rub the goo out of my hair.
“You were amazing out there,” Violet said. “You both were.” She turned to Magnus. “Sorry you lost, Magnus, but it’s a good thing you had Lesli to make up for your shortcomings.”
“Thanks for that, Violet.”
“Sure, no problem.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
And then the production assistants were around us. “Feel free to get changed and we’ll see you guys in a week. Congrats!”
Violet hooked her arm around Magnus’s and then slowly pulled it away. It was covered in slime, courtesy of me.
“I’ll meet you outside, while you get cleaned up,” she said, wiping her hands on her lap trying not to look disgusted.
I walked toward our dressing rooms and Magnus trailed behind me.
“Why are you following me? Don’t you have things to do with Violet?” I tried to keep my tone light, but I couldn’t.
He maneuvered himself in front of me and said, “What’s with all the attitude lately? Did I do something to upset you?” He looked down at me and I had to resist the urge to reach out and touch him. I wanted to do nothing else but that. He was so close. Close enough to kiss. I reprimanded myself for even allowing myself to think about him that way. He was Violet’s, not mine.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I quickly dodged him and kept walking. With a few strides, he easily caught up with me.
“If we’re going to be working together, the least you could do is be civil toward me.”
“I am civil!” I yelled in a very uncivil-like manner.
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