I think she’s having a panic attack.
Did she eat anything last night?
Don’t film her. Give her a second.
My blood ran cold. ‘Oh no,’ I whispered. ‘Oh, fuck.’
‘No need to swear,’ Murray said. ‘For someone whofalls apart the second she notices a camera, you make great TV.’
‘Where am I?’
‘Well, it was supposed to be the Romeo Residence,’ he said, ‘but we’ve moved Dylan somewhere else for now. This is where we’re going to put up all the contestants once they’ve been eliminated. We’re still workshopping the name, but “The Convent” is currently the frontrunner.’
I looked around. There were two other air mattresses on the floor, sleeping bags haphazardly spread out on top of them.
‘Obviously, we had to figure a lot of this out on the fly,’ Murray said. ‘We weren’t expecting the Stage Four restrictions to come in. This place only has two bedrooms, so it’s going to be a squeeze by the end of the season, but we’ll manage. We’re working on moving some of the bunk beds from the Villa down here so you and the other women have somewhere proper to sleep.’
There was a knock on the door. ‘Incoming, fifteen minutes,’ a PA said, sticking her head into the room.
‘Understood,’ Murray said. ‘Set him up with Samantha and Rani first.’
‘Together?’
‘Together. Then we’ll do him and Cece alone.’
‘Him?’ I asked. ‘Dylan? The Romeo?’
‘Dylan the Romeo,’ Murray said. ‘That means you’ve got about twenty minutes to shower, get changed, and get your head together, because your reality TV career isn’t done just yet, kid.’
‘I, uh… sorry… for making a—I didn’t mean to be so dramatic, but—’
‘Cut,’ Murray said, taking his headphones off. It was hot in the makeshift studio space that had been set up in the living room of the Convent, and strands of hair stuck damply to his forehead. ‘Come on, Cece. You can do this. You’re a clever woman. Don’t you have a Master’s?’
‘Really?’ Dylan asked, leaning forward like he was genuinely interested. ‘That’s cool. What in?’
‘Criminology,’ I said. ‘I don’t have it yet, though. A semester to go.’
‘Did you take time out so you could be here?’
‘I already took a semester off because of the pandemic. I got pretty stressed out when it all started, and I didn’t want to ruin my grade point average.’
‘See?’ Murray said. ‘That! Youarecapable of having a conversation, Cece. Just bring that energy when the cameras are on. Start rolling. We’ll go in three, two…’
The boom mic dipped closer. The back of my throat went dry. ‘I’m… Last night was just… I was so… and you carried me here… and—’
‘Cut,’ Murray said. ‘Cece.’
‘I know. I’m sorry, Murray. I just… I see the cameras and I just…’
I covered my face with my hands and shrank back into the couch. ‘Sorry,’ I said again. ‘You already eliminated me, Dylan. You shouldn’t have to deal with my bullshit.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Dylan said. ‘It’s okay. Can we get the cameras out of here for a few minutes, Murray? Give her a breather?’
‘You’re on a schedule,’ Murray said. ‘You’ve still got to film your one-on-one with Dylan G tonight.’
‘You’re taking Dylan G on a date?’ I asked, looking up.
‘Yeah,’ Dylan replied. ‘Well, kind of. We filmed the first group date today and I picked her for the one-on-one time.’
