Not …
“Colton Downing.”
There is a simultaneous and audible gasp from Ji, Paige, and Jordan, which is followed shortly by a snort from Miles. This issonot funny.
“Hey, Miss.” Colton’s full lips tilt upward in a charming smirk as he uses the shortened version of my name. I despise it, mainly because he uses it as the prefix for whatever embarrassing thing I’ve done lately—Miss Mustard, Miss Mumble, Miss Trip VanWinkle. You name it, I’ve been the Miss of it.
His eyes mock me from the screen, like two beady little blueberries I just want to squeeze until they pop. Then hetosses me a confident smile, one that looks worthy of Senator Downing’s posters during election season, who happens to be his dad. To everyone else, his little nickname makes it seem like we are the best of buds, when, in reality, we are, well, acquaintances that have tolerated each other’s presence for too many years because we share the same friend group.Friend group first, then loathing.It’s what we agreed in that high school classroom all those years ago.
“If I understand correctly, your anonymous nominee said that you two have known each other for quite some time,” Shannon says, interrupting my less-than-charitable thoughts.
Anonymous nominee?I always thought it was Paige who nominated me, knowing how much I love the show and how I need the money to buy the building for my nonprofit. But Paige would never nominate both Colton and me together. Even though Colton and I make an effort to endure each other while we’re around our friend group, our friends know plain as day that if Colton and I are left alone in a room together, there is only one of us coming out … with our pride intact, that is.
So who could have nominated both of us?
“Yes, Miss and I go way back.” Colton slides a hand across his hair that is so dark brown, it’s borderline black—whether that’s from the entire tube of hair gel he uses each morning or just his natural hair color, no one knows. His hair could probably double as fly-trap paper. “I knew Miss long before she started using whitening strips.”
I’ve never wanted to smack someone’s face so hard. But I can’t because Colton’s face is on a screen, and smacking people is generally frowned upon—especially when you’re being recorded by a nationwide reality TV show.
But, oh, how he’d look so good with my handprint across that chiseled jaw of his.
I school my features so that I look as unaffected as Colton. Perfect, poised, unbreakable. A look perfected by every Downing that ever grew from his family tree.
“Shannon, y’all couldn’t have found me a better partner. If anyone knows how to sabotage, it’s Colton Downing.” I see the tiniest break in Colton’s features, and my smile widens at my reference to an event from nearly a decade ago that he and I know all too well.
Oblivious to the virtual daggers Colton and I are hurling at each other, Shannon continues to talk about how, as partners, Colton and I will be expected to work together to complete all the challenges on the island, because, after all, if we win, each of us will be bringing home $500,000 in prize money. And even though Shannon referring to us as partners makes me want to go deep-sea fishing using Colton as bait, I keep my perfectly sunny smile intact.
No, not even Colton will ruin my chances of winning this game.
For years, I’ve had my eye on buying The Red Curtain—a beautiful red-brick building in the heart of Pine Lakes. It was built in the 1940s as both a theatre and a community center. Half the building is a fully functional theatre with a stage, and the other half is a long hallway with several large rooms. Over the years, it’s served as host to many plays, council meetings, and was even a temporary school at one point. But then the new Pine Lakes City Center was built, which included its own theatre and community center, and now, it’s only a matter of time before The Red Curtain gets bulldozed for some fast-food chain restaurant.
But I can’t let that happen.
The Red Curtain practically became my home when my real home was ripped away from me at the ripe old age of fourteen. It was at The Red Curtain that I took my first steps into the pageant world, gained back my confidence, and finally saw somethingin myself worth rooting for. And it’s there that I’ve taught as a pageant coach for the past three years. And now that the owner is ready to sell, I know deep in my bones that The Red Curtain is meant to be the home of Something to Glow About.
My eyes flick up to the small rectangular screen framing Colton’s face. Shannon is rattling through the logistics of all that will happen in the next three weeks leading up to the show; all the while, Colton dutifully nods along to everything she says like a bobblehead on the dash of a monster truck.
Watching Colton on the screen triggers an unwelcome thought, one I get so lost in that I can hardly grasp a word Shannon says. What in the world am I going to do if this partnership turns into a dumpster fire?
Feeling anxious, I finger the simple silver bracelet on my left wrist. The tiny strand gets rubbed raw as I mull over the facts before me.
Fact number one: I am so broke, I aspire to be a poor church mouse. That isn’t to say I haven’t loved my job as a pageant coach, but the pay covers groceries, rent, and not much else.
Fact number two: I did not qualify for a bank loan to purchase The Red Curtain, which makes me currently broke and loan-less.
Fact number three: In order to remedy facts one and two, I need to win $500,000 ASAP—even if that means being Colton’s partner.
Fact number four: I hate Colton.
“It was great talking to you both. And I look forward to seeing you on Sabotage Island.” Shannon’s voice feels too bright for how I feel.
After a forced smile and a chipper goodbye, I snap the laptop shut and bury my head in my hands, accidentally smearing lip gloss on my palms.
There is utter silence in the room for three whole seconds before Ji, Miles, Paige, and Jordan burst the quiet bubble. I’mnot sure who says what, but there are a myriad of phrases ranging from “Maybe this is just what you two need” to “He’s got to be pranking you.”
Pranking me? Could Colton have set this up just to spite me?
Sounds like him.
