There ain't no place like paradise. – Tupac Shakur
After the exciting game of Truth or Dare, we moved on to have lunch in the dining area. Lunch consisted on sandwiches and salads. It was a light fare as we would be swimming later on in the day and our stomachs needed to settle before we swam. RM was given the chore to pick a winner for the first game, deciding which question made him blush the most. Rosa was announced the winner. She cheered from her seat before finishing her food.
It was soon time to head outside to sit around the pool. There would be some pool games to play to rack up points for the board. The first game to start was water volleyball. The seven contestants and 7 members of BTS took to the water. It would be contestants against BTS. I stood towards the front near the net as I was one of the better players, having played volleyball in school. Next to me was Tia and Em. The others were spread out behind us as our friends and family sat off on the sidelines watching us play.
"Go Cole!" Lady cheered.
The gamed started and I threw a spike the first time, giving us a point. The game continued for a while. Between Ray, Tia and I, we were scoring points over BTS. I smirked as Jimin tried to spike the ball at me but I was able to catch it and spike it back, gaining us another point.
"You're cheating!" he yelled.
"I can't help it that you suck at this game!" I yelled back.
Jungkook changes places with him and I know that I am in trouble as the golden maeknae is really good at this game and they were holding back until the very last minute.
The game continues with Jungkook scoring one after another. With us tied, I take a deep breath and serve, only for him to miss and we win the game. My group cheers as we make our way out of the pool to dry off and get drinks of water.
"Good job." RM tells us as they take some seats to rest.
We split into smaller groups, some going back to their huts to change and rest; while some of us sat pool side and caught tans. I stayed in the shade some as I burned very easily and I didn't want to deal with a sunburn for the next few days.
"Hey Cole." I heard Jin call out. He came over and sat next to me as I had isolated myself from the others a bit. "Are you alright?"
"Just tired Jin. I am not used to this heat and so much sun. I'm from the mountain range of Pennsylvania, where we hardly get summers and I am always in the shade. Hence why I am so pale." I laugh.
"Well, try and join in as much as possible. This show is about getting to know other ARMIES as well as us."
"I will. There are times I will be by myself just to regroup. I don't mean to offend anyone."
Jin pats my hand, "Just try to join as much as you can." And he's gone back to the others.
I sigh as Lady comes over to me and takes the seat he's just vacated.
"What was that all about?" she asks.
"Jin asking me join the activities."
"Well, you need some alone time to regroup. Some of these contestants and their plus ones are annoying as hell."
"I agree. Maybe you and I need to go take a swim in the ocean, I need to get away from the others."
"Lead the way." She says as we grab our things and head to the private beach and lay down our towels before taking a dive into the ocean.
We hear shouts coming from the pool when RM comes running down towards us.
"You can't be out here alone." He says as he tries to catch his breath.
"Why not?" Lady asks.
"There is no one to watch over you at the moment."
I sighed in annoyance. First Jin and now RM.
"We just wanted to swim RM. We used to do this all the time in Outer Banks. This is nothing new to us. Maybe to you and the others, but Lady and I were lifeguards once upon a time and swim in the ocean plenty of times."
"Just come back to the pool ladies." He asks and I shake my head as I walk out of the water and grab my things. Instead of going back to the pool, I head to my hut to shower and change. I needed to be alone before I lost my cool.
"That was utter bullshit." Lady exclaims as she enters the hut and closes the door. This time she locks it so that no one can bother us.
I strip out of my wet clothing and step into the shower, yelling out, "It almost makes me want to go home."
"Just shower and change, maybe read a book and unwind. I can feel your anger from here."
I nod as I close the door and shower, before changing into a pair of black shorts and a black tank top. With me being angry, black was my go to color. I just hoped that everyone stayed away or they would meet the bitchier side of me tonight.
Lady showers after I come out and changes into a pair of jean short and a white tank top. She too is showing a bit of attitude as we place our dirty clothing into the hamper to wash and unlock our door. When I go to open it, I find a basket with chocolates and face masks inside with a note from RM.
Lady and Cole –
I apologize for today. I was unaware of your certifications and was told by the crew that you were safe and that I didn't have to interfere. Please accept these chocolates and face masks as an apology and hope to see you at dinner.
RM
I showed Lady the note and she chuckled. "They certainly don't want ARMY to hate them, don't they?" she asks.
"I guess so." I say as I place the basket on the table by the door and we exit the hut.
We make our way to the main building where everyone is sitting down for dinner. I notice that we are the furthest from BTS this time around as Lee and Dee have taken up the two prominent seats.
We take our seats and I notice that RM keeps glancing over at us. I look down to my entwined hands, ignoring the looks from the others.
"Where did you run off to?" Ray asked from his seat next to me.
"To my hut to change." I retort.
"No need to be a bitch." Pez says and Em shoots him a glare.
"Leave them alone Pez." Lutz demands, "Maybe some of you are just plain annoying and they didn't want to deal with you."
Pez glares at the young man. "At least I don't whine over petty shit."
I sharply look over at him and clench my fists. I would have punched him right then and there if I wasn't being filmed.
"That's enough." I heard Suga yell and the room quiet.
"Pez, Ray, you will apologize to Lady and Cole. There was a misunderstanding and it has been dealt with. It does not concern any of you, so drop it."
The others nod as Pez and Ray glower at me before turning away. Jungkook comes over and motions that we are to sit on the other end of the table, away from the two French men. The rest of dinner goes quietly, but at the end, RM stands and clinks his glass to get our attention.
"After dinner each night we will have a question of the day challenge. All contestants will be ranked by their answer. Friends and family of the contestants, if the contest winner wins, you win alongside them. This is to make it fairer."
He pauses as he looks over to me. I feel a nudge and I look up.
"Tonight's question will be an easy one. You each have a piece of paper, you will write down the answer and write down your name before folding the paper up and placing it in the bowl that Suga will walk around with. Whoever's paper gets pick and has the correct answer will win a point for the board. Remember, only the contestants can rack points, but all are welcome to play. The question is what did we debut? We need the month, day and year."
That was so easy. It was June 13, 2013. I wrote it down and folded my paper and handed it to Suga. A few minutes go by and Suga moves to the front of the room and messes the entries up as Jimin pulls one out. He opens it and looks at the name and shakes his head, it must have been one of the plus ones. They should have just let us played and had them answer. I reminded myself to tell them that as to not waste time on tomorrow's question. The next paper is opened and Jimin sighs, "This is from Sannie and she writes June 13, 2013."
"That's correct. One point for Sannie. So far Rosa, Cole and Sannie each have a point."
The board is brought up with our names and a star is placed to each name next to the activity won.
"We will be watching Encanto tonight. There will be popcorn and snacks during the movie. Once the movie is done, the contestants will be given solo interviews throughout the resort. All others can head back to their huts for the night." RM finishes.
We head to a large room that houses a large TV. Here we will watch the one movie I despised. I hoped I could find a corner and just take a nap through it as I found it the most annoying movie ever.
I smile as I find a corner seat and get settled. It's in a dark corner and I will be able to easily sleep while the movie is playing, that is if everyone left me alone. I find that RM has taken a seat next to me and sigh inwardly. This would get tricky, but if I passed out, what could he do? Yell?
The movie loaded up and we all got comfortable as popcorn, candy, snacks and drinks were placed on the tables in front of us. I grabbed a blanket and pulled it up to my chin and turned away slightly so it looked as if I was watching the movie, but I was actually sleeping.
Twenty minutes into the movie and I was out cold.
I woke up some time later when RM shook my shoulder. He shook his head when he realized that I had fallen asleep.
"Have a nice nap?" he asked.
"I sure did." I said and yawned.
"Well everyone has gone to a room for their interviews. You will be done out here since it took me awhile to wake you."
I nod as I peer over to a woman who sat waiting for me. I sit up and apologize for wasting her time. She nods as RM leaves the room. She leans over and whispers, "I would sleep through that god awful movie too."
I smirk and we begin the interview. Her name was Leslie and she was from Tokyo, Japan but living in Seoul at the moment. We start our interview and it goes like this:
Full Name: Nicole Ashley Ryan
Birthdate: 15 August 1990
Age: 35
Birthplace: Syracuse, New York
Current Residence: Cresco, Pennsylvania
We moved onto my favorites such as:
Favorite Food: pizza or pasta
Favorite Color: Black and Purple
Favorite Season: Fall
Favorite Holiday: Halloween
Favorite Place to Visit: Outer Banks, North Carolina
The last were a bit of odd and ends type of questions, such as:
Best Friend: Lindsay Jayne aka Lady
BTS Bias: RM and Jimin
Hot or Cold: Either
When we finished, she thanked me for my time and I left, heading back to the hut to get a good night's sleep. I stepped into the hut to find Lady waiting up for me.
"How did the interview go?" she asks.
"Good. Nothing too exposing, but you never know what they will ask next."
"Just keep PG will you?" she asks.
"I'll try." I say as I climb into bed and drift off to sleep.