Author Games: Who Pairs Wins

#1 - Marnie Madaki [PRESET]

Name: Marnie Madaki

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Origin and Background: Marnie is the wealthy daughter of two fashion moguls. Originally Kenyan, her family left the country when she was young and she was educated at a prestigious private school in the UK. She left with good, although not stellar, grades and went on to study fashion at university, but dropped out during her second year. Now she occasionally helps her parents with their businesses.

Motivation: She sees the competition as a chance to make good contacts with the children of other wealthy parents, and perhaps find one worth marrying...

Personality: Marnie is something of a chameleon; able to adapt herself depending on her surroundings. In most cases she uses this ability to stand out. She is at her happiest being sociable and genuinely wants to befriend people. She will always mean someone well unless they have given her reason to think otherwise. When provoked to anger, she lashes out like a cobra.

Appearance: Tall and proud, with strong features and an aura of absolute confidence, Marnie is more striking than beautiful, and fond of telling people that her ancestors were tribal kings and princesses. She dresses colourfully and expensively, and has a penchant for impractical earrings. 

Other: Marnie claims to be fluent in Swahili. How fluent she actually is is up for debate.

Audition Tape:

"Jambo! My name is Marnie Madaki and..." She stops, wondering whether she should use 'Madaki'. Or use 'jambo' instead of 'hello'. Either way, she's ruined this take. "Delete that," she orders Mikki. "We'll try again."

Mikki taps away obediently at the screen, rearranges the camera to get better light and gives her a thumbs-up. This time. She isn't unduly worried, because she fits every criteria the last ten seasons have ever shown, right down to the lack of an actual living, but it'd be nice to get things right.

"Should I stick with the 'jambo'?" she asks Mikki.

Her friend shrugs. "You just do you."

Fine. "Start recording." There's a beep as Mikki presses the right button. Not wanting to seem too keen, she takes a few seconds afterwards to rearrange her earrings. Painted wooden beads, streaming down to her shoulders. Very tribal. Very her. "Jambo!" she cries eventually, pretending that she's only just seen the camera. "I'm Marnie Madaki! That's right, as in Madaki Style. How else do you think I'd know how to dress this well?" A giggle, well calculated. Mikki is grinning away over the lens. "But there's so much more to me than my parents' brands! I'm a colourful character in my own right, quite literally. I've got" - pretending to check her phone and giving the camera a flash of the logo while she's at it - "almost half a million followers on Twitter, and I'm sure they'd tell you they love the bond I have with them. I love love love meeting people and I'm always happy for the chance to make new...connections."

Good! Mikki mouths. Keep going! As if she could stop.

"Sadly, it's so hard for a girl like me to find a good man," she continues. Laying it on a bit thick, but that's what you've got to do. And it's not like she doesn't mean it. "If they're not after your money, they've got their own and they think it means they can treat you like dirt...well, this is my chance to meet someone real and genuine, someone I can really love." And the money wouldn't go amiss, either. "I've watched the show every year, if you ask Mother she'll tell you I'm borderline obsessed, and every year I've seen couples smiling at each other and I've gone well, why not me? And this year I said: why not indeed?"

Mikki is holding up a hand, fingers splayed, counting down. Of course. There's a time limit. She hadn't thought she was anywhere near it, but obviously...

Keep it cool, girl. "I'd love for the chance to be on the show, it'd be an absolute dream. And I'm sure the public would love it too. I've got to go now, but keep me in mind and remember: love always wins." She tops it off with a winning smile, all teeth and lips. Then the little red recording light snaps off and she looks to Mikki. "Well?"

"I think you'd better start packing!"