October 17th, 2021
Mareike
Mareike could feel the stares of the other people inside the bus she just got down from. They probably wondered what a young girl was doing alone in such a remote location. She couldn't blame them, she would be staring at herself as well if she had the chance.
A few feet away from her, a cream coloured building sat. She wasn't sure it was cream, but whatever was used to make the walls bounced back the rays of the scorching mid-day sun making it hard to look at for a long time so she couldn't be sure. She looked around, it was the only nice looking building here, as every other place she turned to either had dilapidated fences or closed up shops. Only two shops sitting side-by-side looked alive, the only indication being the flip sign showing 'open' on their doors. She turned back to the reflecting building, the words 'Crystal House' were written boldly across the top part. This was her stop all right. She stared at the house, feeling a cold shiver run through her; it felt like an unseen force was pulling her along towards the house.
"Well here goes nothing." Mareike muttered, trying to ignore the sound of the departing bus as she dragged her bags forward. It sounded like it was trying to warn her of a last chance. As she got closer, she counted five people hovering around the house. She released a shaky breath, a part of her had been scared she would be kidnapped; it was easy to imagine the horror of going willingly to her own abductors. Her mother would pay quite a hefty sum to get her released, and she in turn would pay a heftier sum. She would never be let out of her mother's sight.
"Hey, are you part of the contest?", A petite girl with unevenly cut hair asked her immediately she got near them.
"Yes, I am. And I'm sure you all are too." Mareike replied, adjusting her glasses and pulling her blue leather coat more tightly around herself.
"Yep. I think we will have to wait here until everyone comes."
"Ugh, that's just annoying. I need to sit somewhere, I didn't come all this way to stand." Someone else blurted.
Mareike glanced at her and couldn't look away. She was shocked by the different colours on the lady's head, so many colours. Unfortunately, the lady decided to turn and caught her looking. "What? You haven't seen dyed hair before?"
Surprised, she turned away. No one had snapped at her like that before, at least not to her face. Back at home, the girl would be instantly detained in her mother's cells for at least a day.
Mareike looked around, desperate to find something that would not cause her to look back at the fiery girl. She noticed a blond guy who seemed to be searching for something. He directly faced where she stood, so she had a good look at him. He had very pale skin and silver eyes that danced around furtively. She looked further down, unlike her, he didn't appear to feel the cold as he just wore blue polo and jeans. He looked Scandivanian, but his slightly crooked nose didn't sit well with that image. She tried to remember a series she had watched where most of them looked like him, but she couldn't place the name.
"He's been looking for somewhere to sit for quite a while now." The nice girl explained. "I'm Ingrid anyway. What's your name?"
Mareike felt her cheeks turn red. Had she been staring? Is that why the girl felt the need to explain what he had been doing? She turned to the girl and replied automatically. "I'm Mareike, nice to meet you."
Eryk
For a house whose walls were made from pure crystals, the lack of chairs outside was disappointing. Eryk was just about to give up when the front door of the building opened.
Being the closest to the door, he turned back to the others. "Hey, the door's open. Let's go in." Even as he said this, not one of them moved. They went silent and stared at Eryk, as if waiting for him to make the first move. Ladies first be damned then. He sighed and walked towards the open door, giving it a slight nudge so he could carry in his bags. No sense in coming back the second time.
"Why is it so dark?" Eryk asked, feeling around the nearby wall for a light switch. After allowing his fingers fumble around, he felt one and flicked it in the opposite direction, causing light to flood the room. Different colours danced across his head, from all directions. He spaced out momentarily, had he walked into a night club? Eryk shook his head and glanced at his Audemars Piguet wristwatch, it had only been twenty minutes since the taxi dropped him here which meant it was still noon.
He turned back for the second time, motioning the girls forward. This time, they followed him walking silently behind him in a single file while carrying their bags.
The entered a narrow hallway and Eryk had to bend his head to avoid hitting the bronze figurine at the entrance. As they walked in the only direction the passage seemed to go, the lights dimmed.
"This place is eerie. I don't like it." One of the girls whispered.
"Really? I actually fancy it, it's almost like it's pulling me into it." Another girl said, more loudly than the first.
Eryk silently agreed with the one who spoke last. The house felt so warm to him, he hadn't been able to resist the urge to pull off his waist coat which had travelled with him from Norway. However, something continously nagged at his brain begging to be remembered. He had a feeling he had been in this house before.
Chiara
After a while, all five of them came out into a big room where other people sat down. This room was lit with a normal fluorescent bulb, and Chiara felt her headache lessen. The girl beside her obviously felt the same as she heaved a sigh of relief.
One of the guys walked towards them and started pointing. "Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. We're complete." He looked up at the only guy among the girls. "Six guys, six girls. One for each, I bet there'll be six rooms. You don't have to take four of them." He laughed, like he had made a funny joke and expected the housemates to laugh along with him. An awkward silence ensued and the girl beside Chiara decided to sit down, causing them to automatically follow.
Chiara looked around where she sat. The sofas in the room were arranged in the centre with a U-shape and it faced the hallway that they had come out of, the left side of the room was divided into the dining area and the kitchen while the right side of the room had a brown oak door leading elsewhere. The interior of the house was a bit drab compared to the outside. The bungalow they currently sat in reminded her of the cathedral back at home. It had arched windows on each side going from top to bottom, and a multi coloured door at the centre. It certainly looked bigger inside than it did outside.
Chiara looked to her right. The girls who had arrived before them appeared to have settled in as they talked animatedly among themselves. She plastered a smile and moved forward to join them.
Femi
As they waited for the organizers, one of the pretty girls stood up to make a suggestion about forming a circle and starting introductions.
While they adjusted on the couches, the girl remained standing and kept smiling. "Hi, I'll go first. My name is Chiara White. I'm twenty-one years old and currently in my second year of college. I'm from Italy." She tapped the girl beside her to go next.
The girl next to her stood up hesitantly, which made Femi really look at her. She had a horrible fashion sense, considering she was a girl. She reminded him of the lightbulbs he had flicked on when he first walked in. So colourful and all over the place. "Hey. My name is Lola Price. I'm also a student in college and I'm from Spain."
"I had a feeling you would be from Spain. I have a friend who is from there and you both look similar." A voice said, and Femi turned to look at the person who spoke. He ended up staring, she had been among the last group of people to walk in and the first and only thing he noticed about her was the bad case of acne she had. Now she sat two people across from him, wearing a tight-fit pink gown which did nothing to improve her body figure. From experience, he knew one of the housemates would insult her.
"That must mean you and your friend look nothing alike then." Lola said, instantly extinguishing the girl's bright smile and confirming Femi's prediction.
Happy with her new confidence, the horribly dressed girl smiled and sat down motioning the person next to her like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, the plump girl turned a deep shade of red and took a deep breath. Femi watched her as her eyes became red and she furiously wiped them.
"Idiots." He muttered, before standing up to continue the introductions totally ignoring the fact that it wasn't yet his turn. "My name is Femi Olakiran. I'm a Nigerian student at the College of Michegon and---" He paused to swallow a cough, "---you shouldn't be mean to someone because you think you're better than the person. I assure you that you're not."
Priya
Priya wanted to hug Femi for what he said. If someone had supported Ashanti the way he did... She looked towards the girl he just defended, she smiled and gazed up at Femi looking like she wanted to sink into the ground less.
The girl originally supposed to introduce herself stood up and introduced herself as Ingrid. By the time she was done, she had adjusted her glasses and rubbed her hands together more than thrice. It seemed like a habit, maybe a nervous one. More people introduced themselves, Jasper, Ace, Penny (the mean girl snickered and said her dog's name was Penny), Florian, and some others.
Priya was the last to introduce herself and she rushed through it, consciously trying to cover her body throughout. The leery looks she had gotten from two guys on the plane made her feel like she wore a very revealing bikini, though she what she wore was the longest English gown she could buy within two weeks. It wasn't her fault, she had to sneak around for days and buy some clothes when no one was around. One of the guys in the room whistled when she sat down, earning him a glare. She shivered in response, a part of her wanted to give him a slap, but her wild part wanted to see if he would go further than that.
When she finished, the light in the room dimmed and a flat screen TV mounted to the wall showed WELCOME. It seemed like the organizers had been waiting for their circle of introduction to end.
Ace
A tall man wearing a suit came in holding a remote. "The light was too bright here." He said, glancing at the girl next to Ace.
He gestured to the table beside him which had stacked papers on it. "I am here to welcome all of you to Crystal House. However, before that, you will have to sign a contract and give up your electronic gadgets for the duration of your stay in the house. There will be no need for them while you're in the house."
One by one, he handed the papers around the room for them to read through and sign. Ace ran his hands through his hair, trying to make sense of the paper in his hand. It seemed to be the basic stuff: agreeing to surrender gadgets, no physical altercations or fighting, following the rules of the game, and stuff like that. They all signed it and gave it back to the nameless man, who smiled and stacked the papers back.
"Welcome to Crystal House. There are four rooms so you can pair yourselves, however you want. Someone will be here to collect your gadgets and electronic devices. Afterwards, feel free to look around the house, the games start in two days." He turned and started to go, but one of the guys noisily cleared his throat. No doubt, for effect.
"Excuse me, what is your name?"
The man looked up as if trying to remember, "You can call me Mr. Han."
Immediately he left, some burly guys came inside to collect the electronic devices. Ace decided to explore the place, and it seemed like his new housemates had the same idea as they ventured off in different directions.
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WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE HOUSEMATES? WHO'S YOUR FAVOURITE?