Author Games: On Air

Semi Finals - Nox

Previously On Air...

It was lovers and mothers week in the mansion as the celebrities were reunited with one of their loved ones. After a series of fraught games of Mario Kart and a glut of emotional scenes that had the audience in stitches and in tears, Tiffany and Jeremy were rewarded for their consistency with a bye into the next round. The remaining competitors fates were in the hands of the public and they saw fit to save Agatha, Coral and Shane, leaving Aries and Nicholas to be eliminated.

This week, the five remaining celebrities are going to have to use all their talent to get through to the final round...

***

The next morning the mood in the house is fragile. Buoyed by the glimpse of life outside the eclectic mansion but unhappy at having it removed so soon, the housemates tiptoe about their daily business in near-silence. A few board games have been laid out in an effort to stave off the boredom but for the most part they have been abandoned: a Monopoly set with a hotel on Mayfair and the rest of the pieces scattered all over the floor; a chess board, mid-game, in which white has the upper hand and checkmate is inevitable; backgammon. Someone has made a brave attempt at cleaning up but the results are negligible.

Tiffany lounges on a chair, her foot swinging over the arm, chanting, "Bored, bored, bored, bored..."

And then the loudspeaker crackles into life. "Good afternoon, housemates. Report to the sitting room in five minutes."

Exactly two minutes and forty seconds later, Jeremy sidles in and the group is complete.

"Hello, housemates." The voice is crisp and strong, enunciating clearly. "You are all looking well. We hope that you are motivated rather than demoralised; there are only two more weeks to go until you can see your loved ones again. The outside world eagerly awaits your return and I imagine it will go faster than you think."

The smiley face on the screen fades away.

"As you are aware, we are at a crucial stage in this competition. One of you will be the winner. The rest of you will go home...well, not quite empty-handed. You will have your memories. Perhaps you will have new friends." The voice turns sarcastic. "Maybe the experience of sharing your life with so many others has enriched you in ways you never thought possible. Whatever it is, we want to know. Your personalities and your looks are constantly on display. They are on magazines, blogs, the news, day in and day out. But your minds...we know little about them, and consequently are fascinating to us. So we've sent in someone whose job is to get those kinds of answers. Nox?"

The door to the entrance hall slides open and in bounds a vaguely familiar character. Known for her tenacity and her exuberant style, Nox Lingualaca is one of the most famous interviewers on the circuit. Today her hair is platinum blonde and swept back in a towering quiff and her bright, lipsticked smile is orange. By comparison her suit is understated and businesslike though, unable to resist, she wears a pair of glittering stilettos that force her to walk with a slight totter. She advances into the room, brandishing her microphone and grinning.

"So!" she says. "Who's first?"

TASK:

- Nox is going to interview each character. It's up to you whether she interviews them away from the others or with them. She has three set questions that everybody must answer: what were you expecting when you signed yourself up for this, have those expectations been confirmed or denied and what do you think you will achieve by winning?

- She will also ask one question of your own invention. It can be anything, within reason (we don't really want to know what outfit your character nearly wore this morning, for example).

- This is the one task in which the Hosts have no say in who goes through. Everybody will be up for votes, so write to impress the voters!

- Word Limit: 1,750

- Deadline: 10PM GMT, Wednesday 3rd December