YellowMelon Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 6’4” | Willowy Dark brown eyes | Silver-white hair Pale completion | Has some faint scars which are covered by make-up Name: John Wú Age: 25 Occupation: Model Likes: Social media, Neat appearances, Silver and white gold jewelry Dislikes: Competition (he wants to be the best in his industry), Being easily touched, People who are too dependent and/or sensitive Hobbies: (1) Photography (for social media posts); (2) Playing any and all mobile games (being on his phone is basically is hobby). 5’9” | Average build Blonde hair | Dark blue eyes Fair complexion | Seems to always have circles under his eyes Name: Daniel Stirling Age: 27 Occupation: English professor (focuses on both analytical and creative writing) Likes: Grading, Short readings, Being on time or arriving early Dislikes: Incorrect grammar, Students who ignore the comments he makes on their assignments, Smoking Hobbies: (1) Collecting pens (he favors pens with a sharp, pointed tip over blunt, rounded tips); (2) Games which require knowledge (Sudoku, chess, jigsaw puzzles, etc.). 5’10” | Fit with lightly defined muscles Medium auburn hair | Grey eyes Medium complexion | Bruises easily Name: Zackary Adams Age: 22 Occupation: Convenience store worker Likes: Music, Ice pops, Scented candles Dislikes: Tight fitting clothes, Gum (he isn’t fond of gum chewing in general, be it him doing it or someone else, and he doesn’t like the texture of gum itself), Overly sweet, extremely spicy, and bitter foods (a picky eater also because of food texture) Hobbies: (1) Jogging; (2) Drawing Dear contestant, Congratulations! You have been selected to participate in the new television show Reality Bites hosted by Miss Tiara Belfonte. A van will come to pick you up on [MM/DD] at [XX:XX]. Please be ready. You may pack a suitcase, but necessities will be provided. Greater details about the show will be given to you upon arrival. Good luck! Yours truly, Tiara Belfonte It was a vague letter and the application process had been less informative. Signing up was like making an account on an online store. Only the basics were asked. There was no confirmation e-mail at completion, so most applicants were left wondering if their form had been successfully submitted. The wait time to hear of an acceptance was several months. Those who were rejected would not be notified, as it was written in the application, but they would come to find out when the show aired or when gossip spread. For many, the excitement of potentially being on a television prompted them to apply and others applied because they were seeking something from it, whether bragging rights or a chance to be famous. The latter had high hopes. For Zackary his reasons were mixed. He had a talent for making quick cash and frequently looked towards the internet for help. Be it babysitting, pet sitting, lawn mowing, or entering writing contests, all were viable options for him to earn money. He would even fill out random surveys he found online if they offered a form of money to participants. Such a lifestyle didn’t benefit him always as easy as it sounded. A downfall of his was being too willing to click on any eye-catching link or advertisement, clueless that he may download a virus. There had been multiple instances where that happened, all of which, fortunately, ended with a fixed laptop instead of a new one. To him, his laptop was unbreakable. His love for it was so much that he brought it with him. It rested snugly in its carrying bag. The ride was awkward and uncomfortable. There were seven seats in total, and one was occupied by the driver. Daniel was the first to choose a seat in the back, leaving the two middle seats available for someone else and occupying a window seat so two other people could sit to his right. The last seat was next to the driver. The awkward atmosphere as strangers filled the van was ignored by the professor. He had his head down and a ballpoint pen in hand. Red marks were clearly seen on the paper he was correcting. Comments filled the margins with marks on almost every sentence he read. He was infamous for this, known to cover essays in a sea of red. He only did this for first drafts, however, as he preferred to make corrections early on so less work had to be done in the future. As he concentrated on proofreading, he used his leather suitcase as a work surface. The one noise which disrupted the quietness of the van was the sound of a game being played. The noise was coming from the passenger seat. The background music to the game was a tune on repeat. It was annoying, but the gamer was more focused on the dialogue. His pupils followed the text left to right as they appeared on his phone screen. Out of all the dating simulator games he played, this had to be one of the best. He found himself wanting a happy ending with each character, although he did find his character to be a bit weak at times. He wished she was brattier. John let out a short sigh as he moved forward in the game, wanting to unlock an illustration but knowing not to rush lest he click on an unwanted response. The arrival of the van at its destined location went unnoticed until he heard the car unlock, to which he automatically unbuckled his seat belt, pulled on the door handle, and stumbled out of the car, almost falling in the process, with his eyes still glued to the screen. The chauffeur took the initiative to approach the mansion with the contestants following behind. When the wooden doors were pushed open, cameras immediately zoomed in on the individuals. Then, as if cue as the doors slammed shut themselves, the hostess came down the arched stairway descending onto the entrance hall. Her heels clicked against the white marble floor. “Shall we get started?” She whispered to the director as she passed him, and, after a short nod of the head, she began, facing the five men before her. “Hello, hello,” she welcomed them with a cheery attitude and a smile, “Since you arrived here on time, I commend the driver for bringing you. Your presence here also means everyone received an email of their acceptance. Congratulations must be in order, right?” The rhetorical question hung in the air with silence. “Yes, that would be the case if you had won something but being here is not a prize of any sorts. You’re here because I chose you which required no energy on your parts.” Her smile seemed to briefly drop before she continued her act. “Either way, you should start getting used to the cameras since you’ve made it to my television show. Wave to the cameras because you’re live.” At this statement, Tiara waved to the camera closest to her. “Well, to begin this game show, before starting a small game, let’s introduce ourselves.” With a motion from the director, one of three cameramen in the room stood in front of Tiara for her to begin first. “To whoever is watching, hello. I’m Tiara Belfonte and, as many of you probably know, I used to be a model. Now, I’m excited to say I’ll be hosting this show. The mansion which the contestants will live is owned by me, and I hope you, as audience members, will be committed to watching these contestants as you will decide who will stay and who will go. We’ll also accept suggestions for games and anything else you would like to see happen in the television show.” Another cameraman now pointed his camera at the contestants with the director pointing at them to make a line. “Go, go,” he mouthed for someone to speak, and, Zackary, wanting to be on television, spoke. “Hello everybody who’s watching! I’m Zackary Adams and I’m excited to be here. I’ve always wanted to be on TV, so I know I’m really lucky to be chosen. To those who didn’t get accepted, good try and don’t give up because another TV show may be looking for participants to air.” He held a thumbs-up to the camera.“On normal days, I would be working at a convenience store or browsing the internet for things to enter. There’s also a good chance I’d be asleep, but, since I’m here, I’ll make sure to keep everyone entertained instead of just myself!” The camera moved away from the brunette and targeted the professor beside him. Daniel froze at the sight of the cameras when coming in and he was still frozen in his spot even as the only one on the television screen. How embarrassing people must be thinking, but he felt nothing except camera shyness. He could tolerate the watching of small crowds, which was why he was able to be a professor, but having an unknown amount of people watching him was terrifying. Although he knew what he was applying for when he submitted the application to be on this television show, the realization of being live suddenly mad him fearful. “I…” his eyes darted to the director who was staring at him, then to the hostess and to the contestants next to him. “Daniel Stirling.” He quickly uttered his name and turned his head down so the camera was forced to move on. The white-haired model was too engrossed in his phone to pay attention to the camera, just like his little attentiveness in the van. “Mr. Wú,” Tiara chirped for him to raise his head. John shut the game on his phone and lowered the device to his side as he looked directly into the camera lens. “John Wú,” he suddenly started, speaking with ease and in a professional tone,“I’m a model mostly everyone has seen and heard of, so, if you don’t know me, use a search engine and I’ll pop up. Unlike the others here, I was requested to be on this show and I kindly accepted. Had nothing better to do, really. I sure hope we all have fun or enjoy ourselves at least.” The sentiment was said smoothly but he didn’t mean it. He didn’t care about the fun and games. He was here for the publicity. His fame was something he liked showing off. Why else would he be wasting his time here? The camera continued down the row to the next individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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