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I notice that Sookie keeps his hands at his sides and stares straight ahead like he’s seen a ghost or like he’s about to be taken to his execution. I’m sure it doesn’t help that I’m here to witness this farce as well, and I’m sure he has strong feelings for me that aren’t the pleasant kind. The cameras start rolling, and the first girl steps forward.
“Introduce yourself, please.” The director says.
She doesn’t even look at him. She exudes a crazy confidence that a lot of the fans have that I find astounding. It doesn’t look like anyone is going to get in the way of what she wants. She’s wearing a black dress and killer black heels with spikes on them. Her face is the perfect v shape and her hair’s cut to her chin. Her makeup is so light I can’t tell if she even has any on and her lips are pink without looking too overdone.
“Hi,” she says in Korean. “I’m Iseul, and I was Sookie’s girlfriend in high school. I’m currently enrolled at University but haven’t ever forgotten about him, so even though we haven’t made our picks yet, I choose him and I hope you vote for me to be with him on this first challenge. I want Sookie. I have always wanted him from the moment he kissed me for the first time—he was—was my first kiss.” She smiles and then looks over at the camera. “So as long as everyone is okay with me being this bold.” She smiles behind her hand like she’s shy and laughs, oh give me a break. “I’ll claim him again. Any objections?”
Yes. I have an objection.
I object to you in general.
And stop looking at him like that… I look away from the annoying fan and right over to Sookie.
He’s staring at her but says nothing. It’s like he’s frozen in time and I can’t tell what he’s thinking.
Director Simon steps forward. “We’ll take that into consideration for your first date remember voting is live so that also calculates into your ability to be with him. As I’m sure you know, many ladies will be interested in multiple group members, it’s only fair each of you get a chance for at least one group date before making your final choice. ”
She nods and giggles again behind her hand, in an annoying way that makes me want to take her by the hair and throw her out on the street.Get a grip, Ari, I keep telling myself. You need to control these raging emotions!
I look back over at Sookie to judge his reaction to the annoying girl. But still he just stands there, giving nothing away. I hate that I can’t tell what’s going on inside him. I hate that he seems to be hiding that part of himself from me.
But he is.
And he’s just standing there as perfect as ever, just as he’s been trained to be. An innocent star ripe for plucking.
The rest of the girls introduce themselves, and it’s barely tolerable for me so I can’t imagine how it must be for the bands. I swear two of the girls look ready to either pass out or eat both groups alive buffet style. One of them is in a cute white headband and overalls with a long sleeve blue shirt underneath. I can’t tell if she’s adorable or just too innocent looking. Her eyes zero in on Lucas while he asks her questions, all while Grace stands next to him.
She must hate this even more than I do.
Grace gets to ask her own question, and it’s a good one. She asks her what her goals are and we all wait with bated breath.
The girl tilts her head and smiles slyly. She twirls a long strand of her hair around her finger and acts like an innocent before she declares war.
“To steal your boyfriend.”
Grace’s jaw drops. Her face turns red and I know it’s probably taking everything she has to keep her mouth shut and not launch herself like a missile at the insipid girl.
The two females lock eyes and Lucas looks from Grace to the contestant in horror before masking his feelings and smiling at the fan.
Lucas laughs. “You’re funny.”
She grins wide, and I swear to God I wouldn’t be surprised if she had fangs for teeth.
“But I wasn’t joking,” and then she laughs again, throwing everyone off. “I knew you’d get my sense of humor, Lucas.”
If it’s possible, Grace turns even redder.
Uh oh.
Stalker party of one.
I make a mental note to look more into her past or at least put a little red flag warning on her as a contestant. I ran background checks on all of them, but you never know—a crazy can always slip through the cracks. It’s part of my job if they start to say problematic things, I literally give them a red or green check mark next to their picture, for the safety of the guys and for their own safety.
“All right.” Director Simon claps his hands together, he already looks tired as he runs his hands through his dark hair and adjusts his black-rimmed glasses. We haven’t even really begun. “Let’s cut for a quick break. There are snacks in the green room, you’ll find it just next to the stairs. Remember, you must keep your mics off if you aren’t actively filming or interviewing and we’ve already texted you your daily schedule of when the cameras will be on in your rooms and around the house. Thanks for all your work and let’s reset and move things around for the girls and then we’ll send the guys back to their house next door first!”
All the girls are escorted out while the guys just stay there and look ready to eat paint chips and slam their heads against the wall.
I walk up to Rae and squeeze his shoulder. “You good?”
