The next day was centered around our newcomer, Anthony. After our tummies had been stuffed with burritos and salad, Charlie made all the Islanders a cocktail called a banana monkey. Our group sat in a small circle in the shallow portion of the pool.
"What's in this?" Polly asked as she sipped from her metal straw. Her drink was almost half empty.
Our resident bartender was happy to oblige. "It's Kahlúa, evaporated milk, some coconut cream, and half a banana. Oh, and chocolate syrup," Charlie explained.
Giselle was almost entirely done with hers. "It's like the perfect alcoholic milkshake."
"So, Anthony, tell us about yourself," Peyton smiled kindly.
"For sure, but there's not much to tell. I'm a first-grade teacher from Atlanta like I said before. Unfortunately, I don't consider myself very interesting," Anthony said with a soft laugh.
"Well, what are your hobbies?" Giselle asked. She leaned back and placed her empty glass on the edge of the pool.
Anthony pondered this for a moment. "Oh, on Wednesdays I tutor the kids at the shelter down the road from the school. Some of them have to move schools a lot, so I like to offer whatever help I can."
Giselle's eyebrows raised in melancholy as she placed a single hand over her chest. "Oh, my heart."
"You're a saint," Polly fawned.
"Not even close," Anthony shook his head. "I'd like to do more for the kids, but hell. The U.S. doesn't exactly prioritize education, so all the classroom supplies come out of my pocket."
Gray swallowed his drink. "So if you won, the money-"
"Would go right to my classroom, yeah. But I won't think about that just yet. First, I've got to have one of you lovely ladies fall in love with me," he joked with a bright smile. Even with a straw between his teeth, he was handsome. "How'd you guys decide for Peyton to go on a date with me?"
Blake interjected without hesitation. "Yeah, why would we send a very beautiful girl in a very happy couple on a date with a new Islander?"
"Because Maddie didn't wanna go," Polly said casually before taking a sip from her drink. Anthony raised his brows and looked in my direction.
"Nothing personal, I just wasn't in the spirit. The date wouldn't have been much fun if I'd gone," I explained, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
Anthony accepted this reasoning. "Alright, that's okay. I respect that, actually. You're aware of your own feelings and don't want anyone else in your emotional bubble. I get that."
"Emotion bubble?" I asked.
"It's an exercise I do with my students. If I see a kid is displaying an extreme emotion, like really sad, or angry, I help them process it by drawing themselves with a little bubble around them, then drawing how they feel. They use different colors, shapes, sometimes words. What's in your emotional bubble, Maddie?" Anthony finished his drink and set it aside.
Taken aback by what had just happened, I shook my head. "I... I don't even know where to start."
"Let's use a color," he suggested.
"Okay... yellow." I felt uncomfortable as the group shifted their eyes between Anthony and me.
Anthony nodded at this, giving me a slight satisfaction as if I'd answered my teacher correctly. "And a shape?"
"A line... gently looped like Christmas lights," I smiled at the thought.
"So you didn't go on that date because you're questioning something," Anthony analyzed.
The group members who knew me well enough were left shocked. "How did you know that?" I questioned.
Anthony laughed softly. "Practice and a few psychology courses in college. You picked yellow, which can symbolize something really good, like happiness, or something like confusion. Think of it like when you're driving and you see a yellow light and you have a split second to decide whether you need to stop or floor it. I knew it was the latter when your shape wasn't a definite shape or direction, but a fictional knot. You're pretty tangled up, huh?"
"Holy shit." I shook my head and let out a nervous laugh. The rest of the Islanders joined me to ease my discomfort. "That was... really detailed."
"It's the only time I get to explain it like that. When you're surrounded by a bunch of 6 and 7-year-olds, it's mostly, 'you chose this dark blue color because you're sad. You might be sad because of this, this, or this reason.'" Anthony smiled.
Giselle was smiling at him with a wide grin. "You are just amazing, aren't you?"
Anthony leaned back on the palms of his hands. "I'm definitely working on it." His phone went off in the pile of electronics, and he pushed himself along the smooth floor to the edge of the pool, giving his hands a hard shake before picking up the phone. "Text!" The rest of us gathered around him. "Islanders, let's learn what your other Islanders really think about you. We hope you brushed your teeth this morning because it's time for Snog, Marry, Pie! #MugsAndKisses #ItsBerryGoodPie." He looked up from his phone with a bright smile after getting his first text.
After a long separation, we returned to the neighboring lot for the Snog, Marry, Pie challenge. The boys stood vulnerable in front of the girls, their hands behind their back as they awaited their fate. A table with ten pie tins lined with whipped cream and ten golden ring boxes was between the two gendered lines. The game was relatively plain and required minimal explanation. It was the U.K. version of America's 'fuck, marry, kill,' except instead of bedding the Islander you choose on national television, you give them a sloppy kiss. Instead of killing an Islander, you shove a pie in their face. TV-friendly.
Peyton was prompted to go first. She walked down the line of boys, teasing her pick for a snog. Finally, she grabbed Anthony and pulled him in for a flirty kiss that ended with both of their cheeks red. The sexual tension between them made the air feel thick. After the applause had died down, she grabbed a ring off the table and walked down the line, then stopped at her couple. "Blake, you've been my best friend through all of this. Will you marry me?" she asked.
Blake laughed and held out his hand. "I'm blushing. Of course." Peyton slid the ring on his finger, then walked to the table to grab a pie. She scaled the line once again before turning and planting the whipped cream into Gray's face, splattering the contents and leaving Gray with a face covered in white goo.
"What was that for?" Gray asked as he removed the whipped cream from his eyes.
"You know what it's for," Peyton smirked and walked back to the row of girls.
Giselle was next, walking right up to Anthony for her pick for a snog. It was more intense than he intended, as indicated by the uncomfortable position of his hands. She grabbed a ring and kneeled before Lucas, popping the question with bland dialogue that I couldn't repeat if I tried. Finally, her pie was pressed into Charlie's face.
"Not bad," Charlie said beneath the face mask of cream. A chunk fell off his cheek as he talked.
Anthony was the hot pick of the day. During Peach's turn, she walked the line before giving him a playful kiss that ended short and sweet. Her main focus was grabbing a ring and kneeling in front of Gray. "We haven't known each other long, but there's no one else I'd rather leave this villa with. Will you marry me?" Peach grinned. Gray obliged with a smile and slid on the plastic ring while Peach readied her pie. "And who will this belong to?" she teased, pacing in front of the line with a soft aluminum tin. Finally, she stopped at Blake and slowly pressed the whipped cream into his face, inch by inch.
Polly was next, though she broke away from the mold the others had established and walked up to Gray, giving him a light kiss on the lips. She turned to the table and grabbed a golden box, then walked up to Lucas. Even though it was a challenge, she appeared nervous. "Lucas, I haven't always been kind to you or appreciated the role you play in my life. But sometimes it takes some time for a person to see what's right for them," she said. Lucas began beaming like a child on Christmas morning. "Will you marry me?"
"No," Lucas smiled.
Polly stood up, shocked. "What?!"
"Kidding!" Lucas grinned and slid the ring on his finger.
Polly's displeasure melted into a smile. She shook her head as she prepared her pie. She walked toward Anthony and stopped inches from his face. "Hold your breath," she advised. Anthony squeezed his eyes shut as Polly pressed the tin into his features.
Finally, it was my turn. As I nearly stumbled walking over to the boys, I wondered if the other girls were just as nervous as I was. My heart was pounding, but luckily, being the last girl to go, I was able to consider my choices. For my snog, I walked up to Lucas; I barely knew him, so the harm would be minor. He watched in shock as I approached him and pulled him in for a sweet kiss that made him smile as I pulled away. I turned to the table and eyed the rings, then glanced at Peach. She gave me a soft wink and a knowing smile. I grabbed the box and turned to the boys, my gaze staying on the ring until I dropped to one knee in front of Charlie. "I... I don't really have a cool speech or anything. I don't know why I'm doing this. Wanna marry me?" My heart had dropped to my stomach.
"Wow, Maddie. You sure know how to make a guy blush," Charlie laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, I'll marry you." He allowed me to slide the plastic band onto his ring finger.
For my choice of pie, I narrowed my eyes and sauntered over to Gray. He shook his head with a smile as he held his breath expectantly. I gently released the pie from my hand and watched the whipped cream drip from his face onto his chest.
"I'll take care of Peach, I promise," Gray laughed beneath the sugary facial treatment, feeling the threat from the best friend.
"Good answer," I replied but failed to keep a straight face.
After I had gone, it was time for the groups to switch positions. The girls now stood in front of the boys, our hands held behind our backs bound by imagination. Gray was called to be the first to go from his group and began calculating his choice of a snog. Eventually, he approached Peyton and gave her an innocent kiss that couldn't have lasted more than two seconds. He took little time in grabbing a ring and kneeling in front of Peach. "I... wow this feels more real than it should," he laughed nervously. "Peach, I adore every little thing about you and promise to make you a smoothie every morning. Will you marry me?"
"Yes, best proposal ever. I'm gonna need that last promise in writing," Peach replied.
Gray grabbed a pie and walked to Giselle with little hesitation. It made me wonder if things were going on in the villa that I wasn't aware of, but it's hard to keep secrets in such a small space.
Lucas stepped up for his turn and twiddled with his thumbs nervously. "I'm not sure who to snog..." he said. Eventually, he grabbed Giselle in a short kiss and pulled away. His shakiness was apparent as he held his ring and, surprising to absolutely no one, knelt before Polly. "Polly, I've never stopped thinking about you. And as a promise to you, I will make you breakfast every morning. If you stay up too late, I'll wipe off your makeup when you're too tired to stand at your sink." Every girl in the villa clutched their hearts. "Will you marry me, Polly?"
Polly's hands covered her mouth like it was a real proposal, but she eventually said, "Yes, oh my god."
With Polly's ring secured on her finger, Lucas grabbed a pie and stared at the whipped cream before walking over to me. "I'm sorry, Maddie."
"Please, have mercy," I pleaded.
"I cannot, it must be done." Lucas began moving the pie toward my face in slow motion.
In a split lapse in judgment, I took a bite out of the whipped cream, leaving a chunk in the tin and a circular whipped cream residue around my lips.
"Does that... does that count?" Lucas asked. I nodded while I struggled to swallow the sugar in my mouth.
Anthony was texted by producers to go next and approached me instantly. "Don't worry, Maddie. I'll help you with that." He leaned down and grabbed my head as he pulled me in for a kiss. He tasted like peppermint candy. As he pulled away, his whipped cream goatee mirrored my own. He grabbed a ring and knelt in front of Peyton, much to Blake's discontent. "Peyton, I think I only owe it to you for being the best Love Island date a guy could ask for. I understand you're in a happy couple, but I just would really love to get to know you." Peyton smiled politely down at him but didn't answer as he adorned her finger with the jewelry. Finally, he grabbed a pie and began fake-tripping with it until he pressed the contents into Giselle's face.
Giselle inhaled in shock and surprise and began wiping the remnants of her face in thick piles. "Why does everyone keep pieing me?" she asked.
Charlie was prompted to start his turn. He approached the other half of his couple and approached Polly with a sweet kiss. He pulled away and scratched the back of his head while he grabbed the ring. He turned to face the line of girls and froze, unable to move or speak for several seconds until he glanced to the right and suddenly mustered the courage. My heart pounded as he walked over to my side of the line and knelt in between Giselle and me. "Shit, sorry, I'm nervous." He shifted his position until he was directly in front of me. "I'm not really sure why I'm doing this either, Maddie. Wanna marry me?" He mimicked my speech with a grin. I smiled smugly and nodded, offering my left hand for him to adorn me with jewelry. He slid the ring on my hand and turned to grab his pie. "I'm only doing this because I'm petty," he announced before pressing the pastry into Giselle's face.
"The third time. This is the third time I've been pied," Giselle blew air between her lips to remove flakes of whipped cream hanging over her mouth.
Blake was the last Islander to take a turn. For his choice of snog, he considered it briefly before walking over to me. I stood uncomfortably still as he pressed his lips to mine. He pulled away after a second, and we silently acknowledged that kissing the other was akin to kissing the cold lips of winter. He went on, deciding to propose to Peyton with a minimalistic speech. "You're the yin to my yang and the north to my south. Will you marry me, and combine the earth and sea?"
"I'm not super sure what all that means, but yes!" Peyton smiled.
Blake grinned and grabbed the last pie tin of the afternoon. "And finally. The grande finale. The last pie." He walked up and down the row of girls, one hand holding the pie like a pizza tray while the other rubbed an imaginary beard as he pondered his options. "Who deserves this pie?" he asked himself, then stopped and turned to the girl closest to him. "Perhaps the girl who pied me for no reason?" He gently held Peach's head steady as he repeated exactly what she'd done to him: slowly easing the pie into her face bit by bit until the edge of the pie tin was flush with her skin. He then let the baking object fall to the group and left Peach to wipe the sugar from her eyes and mouth.
"I can feel it in my brain," Peach joked as she rubbed at her nose.
Anthony's phone buzzed for the second time that day, this time with results from the challenge. "Islanders, please enjoy these superlatives to dwell on for the evening. For the boys- most snogged: Anthony. Most proposals: Lucas. Most pies: Gray. For the girls- most snogged: Maddie. Most proposals: Peyton. Most pies: Giselle. Enjoy your evening, and try not to consider what the others think about you! #WhatsASnog #HatePies." Anthony looked up from his phone. "Brutal."