Emma P.O.V:
So this is where it all begins... my journey into the I'm A Celebrity jungle...
With assistance from the speedboat captain, I step up onto the side of a magnificent yacht. The taste of Australian saltwater coats my lips, and my feet are slightly unsteady when I stand up.
My heartbeat is unmeasurable. It's either not there, or too fast to be measured.
I can't believe I'm doing this. I've signed up to I'm A Celebrity, and I'm about to meet my campmates!
I climb up the spiral stairs to the yacht deck. The temperature is blistering, unlike the cloudy UK. Picking up the bottom of my orange sundress, I strut towards a smartly dressed male - who holds a tray of champagne vessels - and I take a glass.
"Why ... hello!" A chirpy voice sings over the melancholic sounds of crashing water. "You must be a fellow campmate of mine!"
My eyes lay on a man, maybe 6 foot tall. I'd recognise his slightly tanned skin and cheeky smirk anywhere. He looks a freaky amount like Hugh Grant.
"Oh my lord, you're John Barrowman!" I gasp, giving him a hug. "You're the first one here then?"
"Yes! Barrowman I am." He sings. "Why, you must be Emma?"
"You know who I am?"
"Of course." He chuckles, skipping on the spot. "I love Strictly! I'm a bit of a dancer myself!"
John does a few kick-ball-changes on the spot, almost spilling some of the champagne from his glass. "Haha, I don't know about you, but I think that this view is just fabulous! I love your dress!"
While chatting away to the jolly actor, another person makes their way on deck. Another slightly tanned figure; a brunette bombshell; a sexy warrior princess.
"I'm Sair, lovely to meet you!" She beams, coming up to me and pecking my cheek. She has long brunette hair, a stunning figure. She's a camp babe, for sure.
"I'm Emma," I reply. "So, are you excited?"
She shrugs, shivering a little. "Nervous. Very nervous. How about you?"
And that's the thing. I don't know if I'm nervous, or excited, or scared. I don't know if to expect the unexpected, or to expect what I've seen on TV for so many years.
I've been watching I'm A Celebrity since I was only seven. Watching Queen and Kings ascend to the all-mighty throne, it's been a dream of mine. But the cockroaches and the spiders and the snakes terrorise me.
God, what am I doing?
"... Um ... hi."
I'm snapped out of my thoughts.
I look up from my shoes to lay eyes on another man. A tall, lean and robust man, with a tuft of silky blonde hair and a pixie nose.
He smirks and holds out his hand out for me to shake. "Hi, I'm James."
I take his hand. "Hi. I'm Emma."
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before ... are you a model?"
My heart flails out of my chest. "Oh wow, I don't get that a lot. Thanks, but no. I mean it's weird but-."
"Hey," He shushes me, in a smooth kind of way. "My bad. It's lovely to meet you."
The sun beams down on his skin perfectly, and that's when I see it. His illuminated blue eyes are highlighted by his cheekbones. He has plump lips and golden locks, and his skin crumples when he smiles.
"So, what is it you actually do then, Emma?" He asks.
"I'm a professional dancer; A professional on Strictly." His eyebrows raise at my response; he bites his lip slightly. "...What?"
"Nothing." He looks my body up and down. "I can see why; you've got the figure for it."
Sair suddenly pipes up. "What's that noise?"
I follow Sair's gaze to spot a speedboat powering towards us. Sat in the saddle are two figures, one male and one female, with an Australian and a British flag on the stern and bowel.
"It's Holly and Dec!" She gasps. "It's gosh, it's getting real now."
"Yeah," John agrees. "This is where the nerves are going to start to kick in."
A few minutes later...
"Well, hello celebrities!" A feminine voice greets us. The one and only Holly Willoughby steps up on deck, followed by Declan Donnelly.
"So, welcome to Australia!" Dec greets. "How are you finding it?"
John sniggers. "This is a lovely camp!"
We all chuckle at his joke. "Well enjoy the sights and the champagne now, because it won't be around much longer."
"This is where your journey into the jungle begins," Holly explains. "And it won't be together. We're going to split you up into teams."
My palms begin to sweat.
"James and Emma, you are the founders of the yellow team. Sair and John, you are the founders of the red team. Now, in your teams, you will compete in a number of challenges. If you win the challenge, you get to pick the next member that joins your team. If you lose, you get whatever is left-"
"Because losers, can't be choosers!" Dec belts out like it's a show tune. "When your teams are complete, you will face the final challenge. The winners of the final challenge will not only get a better camp (Crock Creek); they'll also be immune to the first two Bushtucker Trials."
I take a deep breath. "But first, you have to get to the jungle ... and this is what's taking you there."
At the speed of light, an enormous chopper skims the side of the yacht, way too close for comfort. The tornado of wind it creates throws all my hair from my shoulder and creates an incredibly cold breeze.
The chopper descends onto a gigantic landing pad at the bowel of the boat. We're hushed over by producers and given headsets to wear.
"Is this a good time to say I'm not good with heights?" Sair giggles, but her voice hitches.
"You'll be fine, Sair." James assures her. "Just take a deep breath."
The floor starts to fall away, and a rush of adrenaline floods my blood. The floor becomes a forest of green; "it looks like a giant head of broccoli!" I screech.
I hear a distinguishable chuckle over the headset from my teammate. "What?"
"Nothing." James laughs, painting himself a smirk. "I like your analogy."
~~~~~
"Hello, celebrities!" Holly welcomes as we jump out of the chopper. "Welcome to your first challenge!"
We've been chucked into an abyss of trees and bushes and green vines, with no other sense of humanity in sight. We're so deep into the jungle, I wonder if this is a whole new planet in itself.
"Now, this is your first challenge. Just over there," Holly points eastwards towards two metal frames suspended over a cliff edge, "are two beams. Taking turns, you and your teammate will climb up the beams, taking the flags off of the rope, and clipping them onto your belt. The quickest team to retrieve their 10 flags will win the first challenge."
I feel James scuffle a bit closer to me.
"As you know, the winner of this challenge will pick the next two members of their team. The losing team will get whatever is left and-."
"Because losers, can't be choosers!" Dec burst into song.
Dec pulls a penny from his waistcoat pocket. He flips it and reveals the upside to be tails. "Yellow team - Emma and James - you will go first."
~~~~~
I scuff my brown bohemian-like shoes into the sludge below. They're proper camping boots, and they compliment my neon yellow jumpsuit that I have to wear for the challenge.
"Step into the harness." One of the rangers instructs. I step in, and it's tightened around my waist.
"Have you seen how high those beams are?" James calls over to me. "We're over 100 meters up!"
We're directed over to the cliff edge and hooked up to many wires. Dec and Holly appear from around one of the trees, and come and stand by with their cue cards.
"How are you both feeling?"
"Good..."
"Nervous," James clenches. "But you know, I don't want to let Emma down."
We step up onto some little platforms, and it's only then I spot the labyrinth below us. It's a maze of trees and bushes and rocks, many shades of green and yellows and browns.
"So James, you're going for flag number one. You can both start on the clackson."
*****
Hello everyone! I hope you liked this first chapter!
I'm so busy over the next few days (my sister and nephews birthdays, as well as A-Level work to do) but I will try and update as much as possible!
Please leave feedback on this chapter! Do you want shorter or longer chapters?
Loads of love, DogsSox231 xoxoxo
And this chapters shoutout goes to mollyswriting for all the love and support xoxo