Trip dropped his head in his hands as the reflection of the fire danced red on its black screen.
Chapter 04
PROSPECTIVE CONTESTANT: CAMERON LOUISE JAIMES
THIRD-ROUND INTERVIEW (EXCERPTS)
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DARLENE AMARI
AMARI: Do you ever have trouble getting along with people? In school or social situations?
CAMERON: What happened to Greg?
AMARI: He’s been reassigned.
CAMERON: That’s too bad. We were just starting to get along.
AMARI: He recommended you be cut from the process, you know. He refused to continue interviews with you.
CAMERON: Really? I didn’t figure him to be so sensitive.
AMARI: Yes you did. You knew exactly what you were doing. You wanted the upper hand.
CAMERON: It didn’t work. Like you said, he almost got me kicked out of the interviews.
AMARI: You’re still here, though, aren’t you?
CAMERON: Yeah. Why is that?
AMARI: You know why.
CAMERON: I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve. I don’t know how you people run things or make decisions.
AMARI: Greg was just doing his job. He was trying to trigger you, to see how you handle conflict and difficult social interaction.
CAMERON: I guess it worked, then.
AMARI: After that stunt you pulled with Greg, and then with Markus yesterday—
CAMERON: You mean the camera guy?
AMARI: You said he had mobsters after him.
CAMERON: Yeah, that was stupid. I don’t know anything about mobsters. But he looks like he gambles a lot, so I figured—
AMARI: But why call him out like that?
CAMERON: He’s a creep. Have you seen the way he looks at you?
AMARI: The point is, I was the only one left willing to talk to you.
CAMERON: I guess TV people have lots of dark secrets they don’t want exposed, huh?
AMARI: Everybody does, including you. I think because of your past, you have a lot of defense mechanisms in place to make sure nobody figures that out.
CAMERON: How many times do I have to say it? I’m not talking about my mom. That’s my life—it’s not part of your show.
AMARI: That’s fine, you don’t have to talk about her. I’ve already told Gregory and everyone else I want you on Cut Off, and what I say goes. Congratulations, you made the cut. But Cameron, you need to understand. Your life is the show.
Cam clutched the phone, the chill leaving her body. She held it out to Trip accusingly.
“Gummy worms, meat sticks, and now a phone?” she said. “Seriously?”
Every contestant had the beacons: boxy GPS devices with a button that enabled connection to the producers. It had been made clear that it should be pressed only if you were ready to go home or had suffered a critical injury. This, what Trip had, was a cellphone. A connection to the outside world. Smuggling in candy was bad enough, but a phone crossed the line.
Trip lunged for the device in Cam’s outstretched hand, but River halted him. “Easy, Trip.” His voice held a clear warning. Then he turned to Cam. “You too. Let’s all calm down.”
“I’m pretty calm, thanks.”
“Give it back,” Trip said. “That’s mine, man.”
“Give me your code.”
Trip laughed. “No way, princess.”
“Fine.” Cam dangled it over the campfire with two fingers. “Guess it burns.”
“No, no! Jesus. One-two-one-two. Happy?”
Cam rolled her eyes. “That’s your code? Some tech genius you are.”
“This is an invasion of privacy. There’s important stuff on there—like, intellectual property.”
“Whatever.” Cam slipped it in her pocket. “It’s dead anyway.”
“Hey,” Liza said. “Why do you get to keep it?”
“Why not me?”
Liza glanced around nervously. “Let River hold it. I trust him.”
Trip piped in eagerly. “Yeah, River. River can hold it.”
“Nope.” Cam patted her pocket. “He showed up with Trip, they’re partners. I’m the only one here I trust.” She shrugged. “Sorry, but that’s the way it is.”
“I’m not partners with anyone,” River muttered.
Liza opened her mouth to object, then River stepped in again, his hands outspread and placating. It was the second time he’d tried to settle everyone down. Cam made a mental note next to his name: peacekeeper. It wasn’t much. She’d been taking mental notes on everyone. Liza was dodgy, but only around Cam, which Cam was trying to figure out. The girl had avoided Cam, had barely said two words to her, and it wasn’t because of this sweet-girl shyness act she put on. And Trip—Trip was easy. His desire for attention made him put everything out there. He was smart. He was dangerous, if only because he was the kind of guy people gravitated to. Even after being revealed as a cheat, he was still kind of likeable, and Liza and River were ready to defend him. It put her at a disadvantage in arguing that he should have to tap out. She’d need to be careful how hard she pushed.
River was something else. Cam examined him by the campfire. He’d sat back down on the log and remained still, as if he was used to it, unlike the others, who didn’t know how to get comfortable without at least a camping chair. Also, he was attractive. Annoyingly so, and he clearly gave no thought to it, like he had no idea girls would fall all over him. When she’d been hazy because of the fire, she hadn’t been so out of it to avoid the ridiculous thought: God, I look terrible. It irritated her as well that she’d become aware that she must smell bad. It had been easy not to worry about it when she’d been alone, and even around the others she didn’t care. They didn’t smell great either. But somehow River smelled like wood smoke and salt. His hair, unruly and obviously longer than he was accustomed to, fell across his forehead and shadowed his eyes, which passed quickly over everyone around the fire. Washing in ocean water had defined those curls better than any product could advertise. Cam ran her fingers through her own short hair, stiffened by dirt and ash, wondering if she should have kept it longer. A ponytail wouldn’t be sticking out at these odd angles. She dropped her hand, disgusted at her own vanity. She wasn’t here to model for the cameras, and certainly not for some pretty boy. She’d come thinking of it as a job, no different from when she’d worked last summer frying funnel cakes at the county fair. At least then she’d been able to shower off the smell of sugar and grease at the end of each day.
River was protective of Trip, that was obvious, while still concerned about being fair. Certainly the game affected how all of them interacted. Cam saw in herself how aspects of her personality were amplified by the cameras and the competition. They were probably secretive, ruthless, conniving, or distrustful in ways they wouldn’t be in real life. River seemed unlike the rest of them, however, as if he was indifferent to the game. That didn’t make her trust him any more than she did the others, because he was still holding a lot back, but she got the feeling he thought he was somehow above it all. In an abstract sense, maybe that made him admirable, but it also meant it’d be easier for her to get him out of the game. He had no defenses. Why play if not to win?