“The Girl Who Begins To Plot” (Part II)

The next morning, we find Jessie regretting her night. She doesn’t remember exactly how she ended up doing what she did… she gets out of bed and immediately goes out to let her anger and frustration out in a constructive way. How could she have let herself be swayed by the words of a girl she knew wasn’t good? Was it the alcohol, or… ugh. Jessie feels a pit in the bottom of her stomach all morning.

Someone doesn’t feel that way, though. Charlee is bright and chipper the next morning, feeling proud about how she is slowly getting into the minds of her competition. Enca, down. Jessie, down. Matthieu, Harrison, down. Life is good.

Charlee: *voiceover* I’m not above sleeping my way to the top. Sometimes you have to do anything to succeed, and hey, if a hook-up here and there is what I need to do to get rid of the filler in the competition, then so be it. I’m not losing any sleep!

Gabriel: Something on your mind, Charlee?

Charlee: If you only knew what was going on in my mind right now…

Gabriel: What?

Charlee: Oh nothing, I’ve just had a good night, nothing else. Don’t worry your pretty head.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Mitchell and Marjan are getting to know each other better. After having immediately bonded from the beginning, they are finding that they like each other quite a bit.

Mitchell: My brothers used to tell me that the moon was made of cheese and it was always my dream to eat it up one day…

Marjan: Oh my God, me too! I even tried to jump up to catch it one day but I failed miserably… what a coincidence!

Marjan: Why am I attracted to this man? Why is his tattoo a turtle? Can he make it swim? Can I feed it?…

Harrison and Enca have begun to bond over their shared love for music. Enca tells Harrison that he’s always welcome to her home to share music and spend some time together. A new friendship is born.

Harrison: You know, it’s hard for me to be outgoing in situations like these. I don’t know what I can do to be less shy!

Enca: What I do before I show my peach to my adoring fans is this: I close my eyes, count to seven, spritz myself with my lemon-scented energizing perfume, and then I tell myself, “Enca, you got this. These people are here for you. Believe in yourself.” And now, I’m telling this to you. Believe in yourself!

After this inspirational conversation, they take a quick selfie to commemorate their budding friendship.

At the same time, an unlikely group has gathered not far from where Enca and Harrison are having a heart to heart.

Charlee: And that’s why we need to be in an alliance! Gabriel, you have the brawn; Louise, you’re the baby of the house; Todd, you know everything about everyone; and I am the mastermind. It’s perfect!

Todd: I’m in!

Louise: Yeah, sure, why not?

Gabriel: Not sure I really need this, but all right…

Louise: I don’t trust her for a second… Sure, she seems nice and hasn’t been mean to me yet, but there’s something about her… plus, I know Jessie is angry at her for some reason. I’ll be watching out for her.

Gabriel: I don’t trust her either, are you kidding? We had a thing last week, but that was a bust. Whatever, it’s better to keep your enemies close, eh? We’ll watch out for each other, don’t worry about it.

Louise: That sounds good to me! Thanks Gabriel.

 ***

Before the challenge is announced, some of the housemates settle down to focus their energies. Jessie and Charlee have a whispered discussion that doesn’t seem to turn out well, and Jessie storms away looking upset. In the same room, Kyungri and Enzo are discussing the upcoming challenge.

Kyungri: Are you ready to fight for the money?

Enzo: I am ready! This is going to be my challenge, I can feel it.

Kyungri: Let the money flow through your body! Say it with me: I am hungry!

Enzo: Is this lady for real? It seems to me that she’s a few pennies short of a dollar, I hope that she does end up winning that money because otherwise… she’s bound to short-circuit like one of those fem-bots in the Austin Powers movies! Does she even have a pulse?

Kyungri: I can feel it in my bones. The money is coming to me. The riches are flowing through my veins. Praise Shaman Unnie! 

Matthieu hasn’t had much time to relax in the house, but he takes advantage of the down time before the challenge to find a secluded spot to meditate.

He’s still thinking about his bittersweet meeting with Maciej, his boyfriend. He tries to clear his mind, but it seems like there’s too much much to focus on. And, as if summoned by a spell, the person he’s thinking of turns up almost immediately. Harrison, unaware of Matthieu’s inner turmoil, cozies up to him to show him some pictures of his family at an outing, but he can’t seem to keep his eyes off Matt’s physique…

Poor Harrison feels like he shouldn’t have come out here, he’s getting more and more flustered by the minute, so he gets ready to go. Matthieu stops him and asks him if he wouldn’t also like to have a picture with him to add to his collection on his phone… and Harrison promptly melts again.

Matthieu: See, you can have a picture of us! It’s all that’s missing in your collection. Y’know, like a memento of Kev & Get It!

Harrison: Oh, yeah! Um, that would be great. Thanks Matthieu!

Matthieu: OK, smile! We’ve gotta look our best now.

Harrison feels his heart racing being so close to Matthieu, and he’s sure that his blush will be obvious in the picture, but he flashes a huge smile.

Harrison: We look great! That’s such a good photo, Matt.

Matthieu: Aw, yeah! So good, man.

They’re huddled close to look at the photo on the screen, and Matthieu feels Harrison’s sweet-smelling hair brush against his face. A shiver runs through his body but he doesn’t say anything. It could just be the chilly evening, he thinks.

Harrison: I don’t know… it just feels so right, he’s so nice to me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to tell him soon, I can’t bring myself to do it and then hear that he only sees me as a friend! That would be the worst… I’ll just be patient and wait for the right time to come.

Matthieu: What a lovely evening I spent with Harry, I love his presence here in the house. It’s very calming. He exudes warmth! I love basking in it.

***

Soon, the bell signaling this week’s challenge rings, and all of the housemates gather to see what they’ll have to go through this week. They’re surprised, as it’s quite late in the evening.

ajmkv: Hello housemates! I hope you’re ready for a long night, because for tonight’s challenge you’ll be spending a night on the beach. That’s right, no beds, no blankets, nothing but your swimsuit to cover you up! You’ll become the moonlit beach babes of K&GI! However, your task this week isn’t just surviving a night under the stars, oh no. You also have a photoshoot first thing in the morning, so make sure that you’re fresh and ready to go. No matter how juicy the drama, or how exhausting the night is, you have to show your best face (and body!) because you are going to be shooting an international campaign for Coy/Coy Swimwear!

China: Daaaaamn, Coy/Coy swimwear? That’s one of the most important swimwear brands in all of SimNation! I have to win this challenge, this could be my foot in the door for my long-overdue model career!

ajmkv: You all will be choosing swimsuits you like from the Coy/Coy collection and modeling them in both a group shot and a solo shot. It’s up to you as a group to choose a leader, and this leader will not only receive the center position, but will also assign all the other positions in the photo. Choose wisely, because a good leader can make you all look good, but a bad one can certainly put a damper on anyone’s smile. Your photos will be judged by me and a special guest judge, as well as by the viewers, and the winner of this challenge will win a solo campaign with Coy/Coy alongside the group campaign. Oh, and… your nominations this week are just one part of the eliminations, as the judges’ and viewers’ votes will figure into calculating who is nominated this week. So make sure you do well, because a bad challenge score can mean that you’re nominated for elimination! Good luck to all of you, and have a good night on the beach!

The housemates set out to nominate someone to lead the group in the challenge as they warm up next to the bonfire on the beach. It is cold, and the swimsuits aren’t helping, so some people decide to huddle up for warmth.

Matthieu: No use in standing alone if we’re gonna be cold, eh? Do you mind if I come close for a bit?

Harrison: Oh! Um… definitely not! I’d love to be next to you.

Matthieu: That’s lovely, thank you. We’ll keep each other warm.

Harrison: *blushing intensely* I’m sure I’ll have no problem keeping warm next to you…

Meanwhile, Marjan is not amused by Charlee’s giggles about the fact that they wore the same swimsuit. Marjan knows that she wears it better.

As the night advances, people don’t know who to choose to lead the team in the morning. The person that becomes the group leader will receive a lot of power, so the housemates don’t want to give too much power to someone who doesn’t deserve it. Kyungri decides to take matters into her own hands.

Kyungri: We need to choose Enzo! Why are you all dilly-dallying? He’s the only one with experience! Just pick him and we’ll all be better off, come on now! Jesus, Mary, and Shaman Unnie!

Enzo: I mean, of course they should choose me, but I’m not going to be the one to say it. I’ll let them choose whoever they want… but I’d definitely be the right choice, yes. Thanks, Kyungri. I think I made a good impression on her during our chat earlier.

Mitchell: *Is sleeping because he got absolutely no sleep that night and he needs at least 8 hours of sleep a night in order to function properly the next day.* …. *But he agrees with Kyungri.*

Charlee: Did I want that boring piece of Italian leather to be the leader? Hell no! But hey, every dog has his day, right?

***

Enzo gets chosen to lead the group given his extensive modeling experience. He assigns the following positions, much to the dismay of some and delight of others: China gets the other center position, Gabriel and Mitchell get the ends, Enca, Todd, Harrison, Louise, and Kyungri are more toward the back, and Jessie, Charlee, Matthieu, and Marjan get more visible positions. Enzo bases his decision on how comfortable people are with posing (though he puts Enca in the back because he knows she could probably outshine him and everyone else if put anywhere near the center). He also puts Harrison and Matthieu together because they’ve been standing together all night.

Enzo encourages Harrison to come out of his shell a little and push to create and interesting and attractive pose to sell the swimsuit. He also tells the girls to look as coy as possible to fit the brand, and while some girls succeed, China surprisingly has problems letting go and not smiling. Reminding her that she’s not at court, Enzo gets frustrated and decides to move along to Matthieu, who is also struggling to emote. It seems like he’s self-conscious in front of the camera. Everyone else does more-or-less all right, and Enzo declares that they are ready for the final shot.

Enzo: I did a good job! I pushed everyone to give me something worthy of representing the brand, and they all did all right. I’m sure that I’ve got this challenge in the bag!

Harrison: I don’t know how I’m supposed to be sexy, that’s not something I do! What was Enzo thinking, telling me to pose like that? Ugh…

Mitchell: *Is still sleeping…*

China: OK, I may not have done as well, but I really doubt that I’ll be in the bottom. All of the people in this house really love me, so I know I’ll be safe no matter what.

~•~•~•~•~

Tune into Part III here!