“I’m going to try, yeah. Tell me about yourself.”
“Well,” she said, sweeping her braids behind her shoulder, “my name is Eden Lee, but I go by Edie. I’m also a model. I’m the face of Beaty Beauty and … I hope to have a really good time here.” Edie also ended with a smile, unsure of what else to say. Rose gave her a knowing glance, knowing the bartender had no clue where Edie hailed from.
“Hmm. I’m not catching much of an accent, but …” he rolled his theory around on his tongue for a moment, lifting his eyebrows to show his concentration. “Are you from Australia?”
Edie laughed. “Yes, I am. But Straya’s a big country.”
“You’re right, it is, and I said I was going to guess the city. So, then, I’m gonna say you’re from Perth, but I bet you’re not, are you?”
Edie shook her head and laughed. “Other side of the country, mate. I’m from Brisbane.” Her words were thick with a caricatured Australian accent. Edie rarely said things like “mate” to strangers, but this was all an act—like everything on the island. It’s what the moment demanded.
The bartender hung his head but didn’t seem at all put off at getting the answer wrong. Edie noticed his gelled quaff of hair didn’t move at all. When he looked up again, he was still all toothy smiles for the women.
“Well, Edie stumped me, so both your mojitos are on me. Thanks for playing, ladies, I’ll get those right up.”
The bartender walked away to the other end of the bar to prep their drinks, and the women exchanged glances.
“At least our bevvies are free,” Edie said.
“I can pay for my bevvy. I don’t like having to play for it, just give it to me,” Rose said.
Edie wasn’t surprised about Rose’s position, but she didn’t quite agree. She appreciated the bartender trying to get to know the patrons, and she didn’t get the impression that he was putting on just to talk to celebrities or millionaire clientele.
“Mojitos for Rose and Edie,” he said with another smile, setting down the drinks in front of them as he said their names.
“If he’s never done a toothpaste ad, he should really look into it,” Edie said privately to Rose.
Rose rolled her eyes. It didn’t impress her that he remembered their names or that he was charismatic, but Edie leaned forward rather than taking a sip of her drink and layered on a thick accent that normally took four drinks to come out.
“What’s your name, mate?”
“My name is Austin,” he said, putting his hand to his chest.
“Where are you from, Austin?” she asked, taking a sip of her mojito.
“Originally, I’m from a small town in Colorado called Twin Springs, but I live in New York now.”
She nodded. “Are you a model in New York?”
Austin laughed at that, like he got that question a lot. “Nah, I’m an actor. That’s why I’m interested in accents. I want to be able to expand my range, you know, play anybody from anywhere. Australia is hard because the accents aren’t very regional, you know? But when I first heard you talk,” he turned his attention again to Rose and switched into a dead-on Liverpool accent, “you were a bit easier, but, of course, not the thickest Scouse I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Rose raised her eyebrows this time. “Not bad, Austin. Not bad. You sound a bit like my brother, actually.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
Austin put his hand to his chest again and gave a small bow. “Thank you, Rose, I appreciate that. You two just let me know if there’s anything else you need, and I’ll be back around to check on you soon, okay?” He gave another dazzling smile and sauntered away to help another group of women who walked up to his side of the bar.
Edie and Rose sipped their drinks and took in their surroundings. Some people in the bar weren’t immediately identifiable but many of them were from tabloids and TikToks and TV shows. As models, the two women were accustomed to the rich and famous but that didn’t dampen their curiosity as to who else got the mysterious email inviting them to the island. So far, they couldn’t determine the pattern by which people were invited. Rose figured someone mined or sold their data, but Edie suspected something more direct; someone likely paid someone else to get the names of exclusive guest lists and picked people either randomly or by some unknown method.
For instance, it was well established that most A-list actors hadn’t gotten the invite but a handful of beauty bloggers had. Not all their old friends from boarding school received an invite nor did everyone at the modeling agency. Rose’s model ex, Grady, publicly turned down the offer. He was a known party boy who Edie assumed would have accepted the invite without a second thought, unlike Edie’s ex-girlfriend, Meggie, who accused Edie of caring more about what Rose thought than anything else. Remembering this, Edie tapped on Rose’s hand.
“Did I tell you that Meggie is going to be here?” she said.
“Notthatbitch,” Rose said, putting down her drink to take in the gossip. “When did you hear that? Did she text you?”
“No, she posted in her stories about it this morning when she was on the plane.”
