Love Elimination (11 page)

Then the scene with the group bitching about her played out, almost in full, cut with footage of Anna on the stairs reacting to their words. Anna fought a sudden burst of nausea.

The lights flicked back on and Anna clasped her hands on her knees. Sweat gathered in the middle of her palms. The show had been eighty per cent her. The audience, the experts and the other girls had their eyes firmly locked on her face, or running the length of her body, as if to say, ‘Who the hell does she think she is?’ Even Hadie was looking at her differently and when she noticed Anna watching, she glanced down at her feet instead.

‘Anna,’ Mason said over the applause. ‘How do you feel watching the first episode?’

A shudder ran through her body. He was going to make her speak first, in front of an audience. She thought she’d been nervous before with the oversized cameras, the lenses only centimetres from her face, but this was worse.

‘It’s strange to see yourself on a television show.’ She scanned the audience. Kate wasn’t in the first three rows of the audience. Beyond that was darkness.

‘How do you feel your date went?’ Jason Myers asked.

‘Well, I think. It was fun.’

‘And how do you feel about Luke Westwood?’ Kimberley Ruro said.

‘He’s nice, good humoured … amazingly good looking.’ Anna offered a slight smile and several people in the crowd giggled.

‘There seems to be great chemistry between the two of you,’ Glenda Liebert started. ‘But you need to relax and be yourself, Anna. You give closed answers in all of your interviews.’

‘We watched the entirety of the footage from your date.’ Kimberley Ruro gestured to the panel. ‘You were uptight and closed off. But when you let yourself trust the process, you lit up.’

‘Luke and everyone watching love you, Anna. There’s nothing to be afraid of,’ Jason Myers added.

It was almost convincing, except for the nine identical death stares being delivered by the other contestants. Even the nicer women had that jealous I-hate-you-even-if-that-makes-me-feel-guilty look. Seeing that expression on their faces made Anna want to stuff herself with sweets until her desire to scream passed. She wanted to quit this show so badly.

‘In fact, here’s something to show you how great you are,’ Jason Myers announced, leaning back and facing the back of the stage. ‘There’s no need to be shy.’

The screen lit up again. This time it was a grainy shot of Ben’s living room. Anna leaned forwards, her eyebrows scrunched.

‘Hello, Australia!’ Ben slid into the frame on his rolling office chair. ‘This is my bestie, Anna.’ He held up a picture of them together in a frame. It was a great photo from the day they’d found the best apple pie in Sydney.

‘She’s the best person I know. Totally sweet and totally a sweet tooth. And I know she’s going to be nervous, maybe even too terrified to show you and the suitor on
Love Elimination
who she is and why she deserves love. So here’s a video compilation to do that for her. I only hope our wonderful Mr Right sees it. And by Mr Right, I mean Luke Westwood, because that man is perfection.’

The footage showed the most embarrassing moments of Anna’s life, accompanied by Ben’s voiceovers and handy little captions. There were snippets from the time Ben caught Anna watching
P.S. I Love You
—basically filming her entire emotional breakdown over fifty minutes. There were also drunk photos from a friend’s engagement party, bits of her twenty-first speech and several pictures from her childhood that Kate must have provided. Anna moaned. No one could hear her over the loud laughter from the audience and panel anyway. A hot flush spread over her cheeks and neck.

Then the screen showed a slideshow of tweets from

@AnnaAndLukeInLove. Ben had finally made good on his threat to get her on Twitter. Except it wasn’t really her—it was Ben posting on her behalf, making the nation fall in love with her when really the one they adored was him. By the time it was over, Yvette looked like she’d been revived from a stroke, though without the wonder, relief or happiness of a person who’d just escaped death.

‘Anna completely stole the limelight this first episode. What do the rest of the girls think?’ Mason tempted. ‘Rachel?’

Anna held her breath as the outspoken redhead opened her mouth.

‘I think Luke will feel differently. Sure, he picked Anna for the single date. But he had to pick someone and next week it will be someone else.’

‘Are you sure about that? Have the producers told you how the show will play out over the next few weeks?’ Mason teased.

‘No. But I’m sure it will give the rest of us—those of us without a media department back at home—a chance to get to know Luke.’

‘Jessica, what do you think?’

‘I think Anna has played her part well. But now it’s our turn to make a move.’

‘Yvette?’

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Mason picked the women who had done the most bitching about Anna behind her back to speak now.

‘Anna is fake. She pretends to be shy and avoids big groups to force Luke to go to her, giving her one-on-one time—like that first single date. I wouldn’t be surprised if Luke sent her home this week, tonight even, after seeing that display.’

‘Well, you’re right that someone will be going home tonight!’ Mason declared, causing Yvette to drop back on her stool. Anna couldn’t help but smile as Yvette realised there was no back to the seat and fumbled to sit upright again.

‘And Luke Westwood will be here to deliver the final words of farewell to that unlucky lady. But it will not be a choice he’ll have to make alone.’ He paused dramatically, waiting several long seconds before continuing, ‘Australia has voted and the two contestants with the lowest votes will be up for eviction today. Our experts—Glenda Liebert, Jason Myers and Kimberley Ruro—will also be selecting someone to face Luke.

‘First, to the public votes!’

Again, the screen lit up and this time it showed ten silhouettes in a column and a percentage bar in another. The bars moved across the screen until the top bottom reached twenty per cent and fourteen per cent. A few of the contestants inhaled sharply. Anna felt a heaviness in her stomach drop. Neither name would be hers. Not after what she’d seen tonight. Her wonderful, beautiful, insane best friend had ruined all chances that she’d be sent home by an ambivalent public. They couldn’t dislike her with a tribute like that. Unless they thought it was unfair? That she’d somehow broken the rules by putting Ben up to it? That was her only hope.

Just as the thought occurred to her, the faces of the two women with the lowest votes were released: Tamsen and Brooke. Mason directed the two girls to exit one side of the stage. Then he turned and nodded to the panel. ‘Now, we’ve thought very carefully about who we wanted to elect,’ Kimberley Ruro said. ‘The person we’ve chosen didn’t give their all this week. They held back and they erected walls not only to keep the cameras out, but also against Luke’s best efforts to get to know her. She’s had every advantage, but she hasn’t used them. For these reasons, we nominate Anna.’

The crowd gasped and Anna had to fight back a smile. Big sister to the rescue. Kate could almost be forgiven for providing Ben with damning evidence of her childhood awkwardness.

‘We hope you aren’t sent home, Anna. But we also want you to take this as a learning experience and let yourself trust. Open yourself up to others and new experiences.’

Anna followed the path taken by Tamsen and Brooke.
Love Elimination
staff led her backstage through a series of rooms and then outside. A beautiful secret garden had been constructed in a small courtyard. It was ringed with roses interwoven with fairy lights. At one end was an old-fashioned bird bath and next to that stood Luke Westwood. The sight of him in a suit made Anna want to faint like a heroine in a historical romance. She joined Tamsen and Brooke in a row in front of him. Once there she let her eyes drink in every part of him. His unshaven jaw and tousled hair made Anna want to reach out and touch him.

Now that she was there, at the end, her heart tugged at her reasoning. He was actually the best guy she’d ever dated: he was kind and charismatic and he made her laugh. But she wasn’t disillusioned by his good looks and she knew he wasn’t the Mr Right for her. After all, they came from different worlds. He was rich. She worked her arse off for every dollar—not literally, unfortunately for the size of her butt. He had success handed to him by his parents. She couldn’t get far enough from her mother. He travelled for work. She had put down roots, leased a brick-and-mortar shop.

She wouldn’t watch the show after she left it. She didn’t want to see him date other women and fall in love. Much better to imagine sweet what ifs at night.

‘Ladies, I’m sorry to have to do this,’ Luke said in a low, gracious tone. Anna wondered briefly if he’d been coached to deliver his lines like that. Someone had certainly written them for him. Anna sent one final, hopeful, wish out into the universe, begging for Kate to have been successful. Of course she would be; she was a producer in one of the industry’s biggest puppet shows. But Anna couldn’t help the tingling doubt that crept back in. She was so close to her dream. If the universe had any consistency, it would tear it all away right about now.

‘Once again, I won’t drag this out. Today I am saying goodbye to Tamsen. I’m sorry.’

Tamsen immediately burst into tears and Anna was a hair’s breadth away from joining her.

‘Thank you, Brooke and Anna.’ Luke looked at Anna in a way that made her internal explosion all the more catastrophic. ‘You may head back to the main stage.’

Anna followed Brooke as she turned and left. On the way back to the stage she realised two things. One, that her plan had one hundred per cent backfired. Two, Kate was there and refusing to meet Anna’s murderous gaze.

None of the contestants spoke to her in the minibus. Anna wondered briefly whether they’d made a pact while she was in the eviction garden, then she remembered that she didn’t care. If they chose to act like jealous school girls, that was their prerogative. She hadn’t joined the show to befriend a bunch of shallow wannabe reality stars. Even as she thought it, pangs of guilt shot through her. She pushed them deep down. What she needed was her sister. There was no way she could languish in ignorance, not knowing how long she’d have to put up with this charade.

As soon as everyone was inside the house, Anna slipped away. She had to talk to Kate. She took a side door out through the gym and ducked into the darkness, creeping along the beach and weaving through the palm trees, until she came across another villa only metres from where she’d bumped into Luke. Just as she’d suspected, there were two buildings, one small pool house and one mansion large enough to house the entire production crew. A pool and spa sat between the two.

Anna snuck past the pool house and made her way around the main house. Only then did she really think through the flaws in her plan. There was no way to tell which room Kate was in. Her sister hadn’t thought to tell her and there was no way she could waltz into the mansion and ask to see her. She was supposed to be on lockdown, no contact with anyone except for Luke Westwood and the other contestants—and contact with Luke had to be only during filming hours.

A light switched on above her and Anna shrank back into the dark shadows around the building. A figure appeared in the window, opening it to the night air. Anna immediately recognised her sister. In a panic, she resorted to stereotype, sweeping a few pebbles from the ground and chucking them in the general direction of the window. Only there weren’t any pebbles, just sand. She ended up chucking a handful into the air. The grains fell back through the air and into her eyes.

‘Crap,’ Anna cursed, a little louder than she intended. She pawed at her eyes and the stinging only worsened. Tears poured down her face.

Kate ducked her head through the window. ‘Anna?’ she whispered into the air. ‘Is that you?’

‘Kate. I need to talk to you!’ Anna tried to keep her voice as soft as possible. None of the other blinds moved or windows opened. She saw no movement whatsoever, except for the extinguishing of her sister’s light. A minute later, they were face to face.

‘Follow me,’ Kate said when she spotted Anna. ‘Let’s get away from the house.’

They tiptoed back past the pool and the pool house until they were out on the beach, listened to only by the ocean. Anna wished she’d thought to change before seeking Kate out: the cocktail dress she’d worn to the screening exposed most of her skin to mosquitoes. There was no telling what damage she’d discover the next day. She wrapped her arms around herself, as though it would help.

‘I thought I was getting sent home.’ Anna tried to keep the annoyance and hurt out of her voice. Her sister was always focused on her work; it wouldn’t be the first time Kate forgot to ask about Anna’s life. But this time the two were mixed and it was in the show’s best interest if the person who didn’t want to compete for Luke Westwood’s affections was evicted early. ‘Isn’t it your job to be convincing?’

‘He’s not the type of man who listens to what the producers say …’ Kate mumbled, clearly put out by her inability to manipulate the man. She’d rarely had to fight to win over attractive straight men in the past. Anna had always been just a touch envious of her sister’s luck with the opposite sex, and life in general. Things came easily to Kate.

‘But—’

‘I tried, Anna!’ The words rushed out of Kate like she had no control over them. ‘The experts were instructed to put you in the bottom three and Luke Westwood was encouraged to send you home. But we can’t tell him what to do. His father is CEO of the network, for Christ’s sake.’

‘Isn’t there anything you can do? I can’t stay here, Kate. I have a life to get back to.’ Anna pulled her arms tight around herself.

‘I know, I know. But Ben’s taking care of everything. I talked to him.’

‘I saw. Where’d you get those photos anyway? And why on earth did you think it was a good idea to put them on national television?’ Anna’s head hurt just thinking about it. Seeing them up there only reminded her of her childhood, which made her want to cry. It reminded her how wrong it had all gone a few short years later.