Page 19

“I will. Hey.” She sits up. “We should find the others and get some group photos.”

I hesitate for only asecondbefore I nod, I swear, but Perrie catches it anyway. “Or not?” she asks, squinting.

It’s possible I have some acting training to do before I achieve world domination. Note to self: practice saying “Jordy and Skye are the best” in front of the mirror a hundred times before I have to go on camera and say it with a straight face for the world to see.

Cool. Cool, cool.

“No, we should,” I say. “Just… don’t be surprised if it’s a little awkward with Skye. We butted heads a bit, right before I came into your room.”

“Already?” Her mouth stretches into a wide smile, displaying perfect teeth straight from a filter. Definitely an influencer’s smile. “Isn’t it a bit early for drama? I thought we’d last until atleasta few drinks in tonight.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I say. “I’m a disaster bi.”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Literally. In every sense of the word. Where I go, drama follows. It’s a curse.”

She settles back into a lounging position. “That explains it.”

“Seriously, though, Skye and I have history. Not, like, romantic. The other kind. I was hoping I might be able to avoid her, but,of course,she’s my roommate.”

“Oh, of course. What’s the history, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I hesitate. “I mean, I don’t mind you asking, but it’s not fair for me to drag you into drama in the first, like…hour.”

“Well, how about you give me some credit, tell me the facts, and I’ll make my own mind up about if I want to be involved with drama. No offense, but I’m not automatically gonna take your side just because I met you first.” She shrugs casually, but her eyes are glinting. “I could be neutral. You could even be in the wrong.”

“Anything’s possible,” I say drily. It’s not like she’d be the first die-hard Jordy fan to come to that conclusion. “All right. Well. Long story short, Jordy and I were in a long-distance relationship, Skye knew about it, and he cheated on me with her for two months before I found out. And I’ve yet to receive an apology or anything from her, so, I’m not interested in faking nice to her face. I’m not that sort of person.”

Perrie considers this long and hard. “Okay,” she says. “It’s pretty clear I have to be on your side here.”

“Yeah,” I say, but I can’t hide the tinge of surprise in my voice. Acting lessons,stat.

“I don’t fuck with cheaters.”

“Jordy’s the cheater,” I remind her. “He’s worse than Skye.Shewas single, at least.”

Perrie shrugs. “Yeah, well. I’m on an all-expenses-paid holiday in Chalonne with my rent covered back home right now.AndI’m going on TV, which hasgotto help me get some followers. I don’t mind fucking with him for a little while. My morals will allow it.”

So Perrie’s not a member of the Jordy Miller cult?That’swhy she believes me. “That’s one way of saying you came on for the exposure.”

Perrie clears her throat. “And you came here to start a dazzling romance with the guy who cheated on you while making besties with the other woman? Spare me. You haveyour reasons for being here, I have mine. Let’s just have a good time while we’re here.”

I wish I had a glass of something to raise in a toast to that, but I have to settle for a fist pump. “Amen, Perrie. A! Men!”

SIXSkye

I leave the room in a fog.

Everyone I mentioned the show to over the last two months warned me about this.Don’t expect to make friends,they all said.Reality show contestants are terrible to begin with, and you’re competing over a guy you’re all invested in already.Every time, I’d shrugged and said that maybe it would be different, because we weren’t handpicked in an audition based on our propensity for drama like many shows. We’re simply a group of average girls, who happen to have one thing in common.

But they didn’t pair me with an average girl. They paired me with Maya. Maya, who’s exactly like Jordy warned she would be. Maya, who appears to be an elite athlete in grudge-holding. Maya, who’s going to speak to me like that, and look at me like that, for who knows how long. Until Jordy sends her home, I suppose.

Coming here was a mistake.

My airway feels constricted, and I press against the wall and force myself to take several deep breaths until my throat relaxes and I can get enough air in once again. Okay. So.

Isaac said we could change rooms soon. All I have to dois hold out until then, avoid Maya as much as possible, and I’ll be free to seek shelter with one of the other girls. None of whom Jordy felt it necessary to warn me about, so, presumably, they’re all perfectly lovely. Come to think of it, Jordywarnedme about Maya, which means he knows just what she’s like, which means he’s highly unlikely to keep her around once he discovers she hasn’t changed. For all I know, I’ll have the room to myself any day now.