“Well, this next challenge is going to eliminate one team, and it’s a bit of a mucky one.” He smiles broadly. “You and your partner will both be working together on this one. Let’s go on inside and see what you’ll need to do.”
We go inside and strip off our outerwear so we’re in our regular clothes. As we do, I murmur to Penny, “What were you, drunk in confessional?”
“What do you mean?”
I laugh. “You said smart. What, you think they were talking about you? Ain’t no way I’m smart.”
“Yeah. You are.” Then she lowers her voice an octave and says, “Ain’t no way freckles are my best feature.”
Is she pretending to be me? Is that how she thinks I sound? It’s kind of fucking adorable.
“Oh hell yes they are. That and a few other parts of you, but it wasn’t a shopping list. And I didn’t want to make you blush too much when you found out.”
Her eyes widen.
Will says, “This here is an indoor fish hatchery, providing sustainable Alaskan salmon to the world. Salmon that are raised indoors provide more food to keep up with demand. The tanks that keep these salmon hold up to ten thousand fish!”
He’s going on, but the rest of us aren’t listening. We want the challenge.
We walk into a large room on a metal gangplank overlooking tanks. They’re some big tanks, about five feet high, with fish practically sandwiched together. There are five of them.
When we signed the agreements for the show, we were told that we could be exposed to potentially dangerous situations. I’d say this is definitely one of them.
I’m fucking game.
“When you are given the okay to start—we’ll go at three-minute intervals, starting with the first-place team, based on when you arrived at the camp yesterday afternoon—both team members will choose a tank, climb into the tank, and attempt to find the clue. I’m not saying what this clue is, but you’ll know it when you see it. Once you retrieve the clue, read it and proceed on to the next leg of the journey.
“However, please note that since only four of you will be proceeding on from this point, only four of the tanks will actually have a clue. Good luck. Teams ready?”
We all applaud.
As expected, Ace and Marta were first, so when the whistle blows, they rush down the stairs, jumping into the first tank. I look over at Penny. She looks ready, rubbing her palms together, her brows narrowed in concentration. “You know, girl, you have a competitive side. An inner beast.”
She nods. “I want to win. And I’m so happy you’re feeling better. I was really worried.”
She’s so damn cute. Worried about me?
“You could take a break this challenge,” I suggest. “Since you did almost all of it yesterday.”
“No. You dragged me all the way up the hill. Plus, if the two of us go in the tank, we’ll find it faster.” She points to Ace and Marta’s tank, where the guy is cussing up a storm. “It must be hard. They’ve been looking for five minutes and haven’t found a thing. We should work together.”
“All right. You said it.” I hold out my fist.
She stares at it.
“Bump?”
“What?”
“Or . . . should we have a team handshake? Put out your hand like this.”
She does. I bump it, grab her hand, give her skin, then let go and run my hand through my hair. She’s still staring. “I don’t get it.”
“I forgot. You ain’t into sports. It pumps you up. Gets you riled. Ready to go.” She’s still confused. I shake my head. “Forget it. Let’s do this.”
By then, it’s our time to go. Will Wang counts down and says, “Team Prince Charming and His Doctor, are you ready? Annnnnd go!”
We race down the stairs. I get to the ladder of the last remaining tank first and climb in, diving headfirst into a murky tank full of fish. I reach in, trying to find who the fuck knows what, but all I keep feeling are handfuls of fish and the flat sides of the tank.
Penny climbs the ladder and slowly slides into the water. “It’s freezing!”
She looks around carefully, like she did that first day in the swimming pool, her face twisted in disgust. Meanwhile, I’m splashing around her, reaching blindly down into the bottom of the tank, trying to take ahold of something that doesn’t feel scaly. I dive under, but the water is green and putrid and I can’t see